Are nursing homes above the law? Exposing repeat offenders (Marketplace)

 [David] This is your Marketplace. Shocking video... No regard for a human. [David] The truth comes out. It's so disturbing. [David] But the abuse will not stop. I need help. No one comes. [David] Are nursing homes above the law? We've never seen a home charged criminally for what I think is criminal behaviour. [David] No justice from police. From government. There have been thousands of instances under which these care homes have broken the law for things like abuse and neglect. [David] The fight starts now. [David] Late at night and David Witta is rushing across Toronto. He has a hunch something is wrong with his mom. My gut. It just simply told me that something's not right. [David] He arrives at her long-term care home where he finds her in pain.

You know she's not okay, because why is she moving around and squirming like that in the facial expressions that she was making? [David] Thelma Watson is recovering from a life-threatening blood clot. And he's shocked staff haven't noticed her like this. [David W] It was just...it was...it's just so hard. -What is tha-- [Giggles] [David] For three years, David records everything from the good...

You gonna give nana a kiss? [David] ..to the bad. Burns on her body and bedbug bites. I have pictures of numerous times that I went in to feed my mom and my mom is soiled. When I say soiled, I'm talking soiled right up to her chest. [David] What does that tell you? It told me about lack of care. [David] David's mom isn't alone. Inspectors find another soiled elder left to wait for four hours. Skin care checks not completed for 31 weeks. An "allegation of neglect" but no sign it was ever investigated by the home. Similar problems repeated year after year. [David] Is that breaking the law? It is, it's breaking the law, they're not complying with the legislation which governs them. If these things were happening at a day care, those day care centres would be shut in a minute. [David] Jane Meadus is a lawyer and seniors' advocate. She tracks the ever-growing warnings from nursing homes across Ontario. That number of written notices means that they're not interested in complying with the law, for whatever reason, if it's just that they don't want to bother.

[David] But that's just a crazy statement. They're not interested in complying with the law. [Jane] Mmhmm. -It's the law! -Right. [David] Will problems in long term care ever get fixed? [David] To figure it out, we're reviewing 30,000 violation notices issued by Ontario care home inspectors over five years. Failures that can have consequences. We've had neglect with teeth for over a year when her teeth weren't brushed. [David] When staff don't clear food from his mom's teeth at the village of Humber Heights, it may have ended up in her lungs nearly killing her. Do you think the government had the alarm bells ringing about this home before COVID struck? Definitely. I tried. I put it out there. Nothing, nothing, no results. Nothing came of them. [David] Our cameras have caught failures before. Now we find 85% of Ontario homes, an incredible 538 of them, have broken the same law repeatedly. For serious problems like abuse, neglect, medication errors, or not providing enough food or water to residents.

It's become acceptable to provide a lack of care. It's become acceptable to break the law, year after year, the same infractions, over and over again. That's correct, I mean the things-- What do you mean that's correct? That's, well that's what's happening. I think that the system has become very complacent. [David] Virtually no sanctions. No fines. Not even once.

If I run a long-term care home in this province, it appears that I can keep breaking the rules, and almost never is there a repercussion. There is no consequence. I think it's even worse than that. People who are in long term care who are not kept clean, get large bed sores, and they can die from these things. If that person was in your home, you would likely be charged criminally for that. And we have never seen a home charged criminally for what I think is criminal behaviour. There are no consequences. [David] Sparky Johnson and Sherry Schernitzki know that all too well, from a terrible experience that begins on their aunt Beverly Haines' very first day at a care home.

They said to us at that point, well, she's got a hotspot on her back. The skin is not broken, but it's red. And it could turn into something if we don't take care of it. They had assured us that they had such a protocol in place to minimize the risk of their actually becoming an open bedsore. [David] But that home, Hope Street Terrace, has a long and repeated history of failure to properly care for skin problems. Less than a month after Bev moves in, a nurse practitioner visiting the home calls urgently. He goes, this is huge. It's a huge bedsore. I walked towards her room and I can smell the bedsore.

It's that bad. And he goes, it's down to the bone. And he said to me at that point that this is life threatening. [David] Sparky and Sherry are shocked and take action. [David] Recording their visits. [David] Sparky sees residents desperate. [David] Seniors alone. [David] Bev is also in pain. Her bedsore worsening rapidly. These sores are common in long term care. Staff should know how to treat them. But six weeks after she moves in... ..Bev dies. This is a criminal offence. When there is a crime, you go to the police. [David] And that's just what they did. I went to the station to report neglect and abuse. An officer sat down with me for an hour. [David] They show investigators photos of the enormous bedsore.

These images are really difficult to look at. They are. [David] Too graphic for us to show now. An infected, gaping wound on Bev's back. When you see them now... ..what do you think about? -It's horrific. -It is. It's criminal. It's how, can this happen to a person? I can tell you're actually having trouble looking at it. -Mmhmm. It's criminal! [David] But charging a home in Ontario would be precedent setting. The police have said to me, well this has never been done before. And basically, the police gave us a call and said well, there's no case. [David] A bitter disappointment. After years of inspector's warnings, no repercussions. We ask Southbridge Care Homes, which owns Hope Street Terrace, for an interview. They refuse due to resident "privacy". But say their priority is the safety and well-being of their residents.

They get written up with notices to change their behaviour. How they'll do it better next time and time and time again. There is a lack of accountability happening. No, I think it's perfect. That's what she wanted, right? [David] Sparky and Sherry are now searching for answers. Her name added to the tree? -Yeah. -The plaque. [David] As they grieve for Aunt Bev. She was very artistic. She loved being up north, she was a camper. Incredible artist. So posh, like... Yes, dressed to the t. Even in the home, it was you know, I need to get my hair done, I need to get my nails done. Our people deserve to be cared for! [David] In Bev's memory they're still pursuing charges. [Sparky] We're calling for justice! [David] Managed to get the case re-opened.

Stop killing our people! [David] They are advocating for seniors. Who are you fighting for now? [Sherry] Everybody else. There's 600 and something homes in Ontario. This is just one. So yes, our aunt is gone, but the fight is for other seniors, like no family should have to go through this. [David] But David is now. [David W] You're doing good, just eat.

You have to eat. [David] While he fights for his mom, we ask Schlegel villages, the chain that owns the home, for an interview. They decline. In a statement they tell us all residents, including David's mom, are given proper dental care. That they treat for pests like bedbugs. And work hard to keep residents safe. [David W] We love to see you smile. [David] In the spring, with COVID raging, David is no longer allowed inside his mom's home. [David W] Eat your fruit, there you go. Good. [David] Can't help with her feeding and is then told she's not eating as residents around her become infected and die. Then...David's phone rings. It was the doctor telling me that my mom's dying.

I got on with the Facetime and as soon as I got on the Facetime with the coordinator of the floor he panned the iPad. And when I looked, I didn't even recognize who the person was. It was my mother. She was just skin and bone. I screamed out to her and I said, mom, it's me, David. I'm there with her every single day and haven't seen my mom since, since before COVID. And I asked her at that point if she would just look up, look up when you hear my voice. And she did. She opened her eyes and looked. And at that point, I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I screen captured it because I figured this would be the last time I'm going to get to see my mom. [David] Abuse caught on camera. There have been four more documented cases of abuse. Wow! [David] Repeat offenders exposed. [David] This is your Marketplace. When abuse and neglect is caught on camera at a long-term care homes in Ontario, what are the consequences? Our analysis shows 85% of Ontario nursing homes have broken the law repeatedly, including this one.

No regard for a human, no regard. [David] Von and Mary still find these videos excruciating to watch. Mum was afraid. She pushed the spoon away from her mouth. My mum clearly doesn't want to eat for whatever reason. It could be fear, it could be appetite, just aggressive force feeding. And now she goes to wipe my mom's face with the bedsheet. We couldn't believe what we saw. [David] And so soon after Kostandinka had been living with them. [♪♪♪] [David] Surrounded by family, where she was happiest. [♪♪♪] My mom... [Mary] Huge heart. Very loveable woman. She never judged anybody, she always said "my door is always open." She was-- she was just full of life and love. [David] That vibrant personality starts to fade just after she moves into Scarborough's Craiglee nursing home. You were seeing a decline? And it was just like wow, now she can't walk? Why is she not eating in the dining room, why is she in bed eating? She just disappeared almost. [David] That sudden decline, along with unexplained bruising on her arms prompt Von to put a camera in his mother's room.

What did you see on the camera? [Von] Abuse. [Mary] Neglect. Her holding onto the bed rails for dear life. [Von] Scared to sleep. [Mary] Choking. [Von] Punching. [Mary] No respect for her dignity. And we saw like, a horror film. I will never be able to unsee those things. What are the most serious problems that you would see as an inspector? Abuse, neglect. [David] For more than three years, Rebecca de Witte inspected long term care homes but now she's blowing the whistle. I've seen residents have their meal taken away from them, told to go and get it out of the rubbish bin.

Rough handling, derogatory speech, verbal abuse. And this is while staff know there's an inspector in the home. Yes. [David] So what's happening when you're not there? Exactly. [David] When inspectors are there... [David] We've been there before too, hearing staff fears. [David] Resident worries as 30,000 violations have been recorded over five years. Often the same problem repeated year after year. Why is that? A combination of things.

Funding is one of the issues. And then there's negligence, which is very... ..apparent in some homes. [David] Just two years before Von's nanny cam was installed, inspectors had already repeatedly found Craiglee staff abusing residents. Then inspectors went back in 2019 and watched Von's footage. You reveal all of this, and their report is scathing. What do they find? They found everything.

The way they handled mom, cold breakfast for lunch, it's way too much to name. They found there was not enough staff. They didn't do the criminal background checks. They were force feeding her very quickly, trying to get it all down so they can move on to the next. [David] In 2015, inspectors discovered staff hadn't been properly trained on abuse policies. Same finding in 2017. Again in 2019. Even after Von showed them his videos... ..inspectors still found the same problem in 2020. So, this means to tell me that everything my mom endured...it was all for nothing. In your time as an inspector, did you ever go and lay charges against a home? No. [David] Because... I didn't have the power. Do you feel like that you had the power to make a difference? No, no. [David] It's why Rebecca steps away from the job. Not enough help. And few repercussions. Do you feel the government failed your mother, in not ensuring the problems they knew were happening there were fixed before they came back again? One hundred percent, in my opinion.

One hundred percent. It's disturbing, it's so disturbing. [David] In their fight, Von and Mary also go to police. I showed them the video and I had a PSW arrested on the spot. [Mary] Yes. -For? -Assault. -Assault. [David] But only one of those workers is charged. One of the many rough handling his mom on the videos. That worker agrees not to work with vulnerable people for three years, avoiding a trial. This whole binder is evidence in hopefully their criminal trials. [David] You put it together in the hopes of seeing more people charged for what happened to your mom. Yes. When the police wouldn't help us. When the police wouldn't. [David] The couple takes an extraordinary route bypassing police and successfully appealing directly to the courts for more charges. Three more PSWs from the videos are now facing charges in court. And what are those charges? They are assault, and assault causing bodily harm. [David] Why do families need to go to such extremes on their own just to see consequences? The home, again owned by the Southbridge Chain, still won't talk to us on camera.

But tell us in a statement, they have zero tolerance for abuse. They fired employees and re-educated their staff. Something the home has been told to do repeatedly by the government over the last five years. And even then, the problems at Craiglee persisted. Since this happened to your mom at Craiglee there have been four more documented cases of abuse.

-Since? -After. [David] Financial abuse, emotional abuse and physical abuse. This is what ministry inspectors are finding. Wow. So, what does it take? What can we do about it? We're doing that, we are trying to do that, in honour of my mother. I need to do that, it's my responsibility. How can they still be operating today? [David] How can you expect a sector to change if there aren't repercussions when the most serious things happen repeatedly? There's no tolerance whatsoever for negligence or abuse. [David] The fight continues on your Marketplace. [David] This is your Marketplace. 85% of Ontario nursing homes have broken the law repeatedly for abuse, neglect and more. But there are virtually never any consequences. I think we have to have a system of fines, that's 100%. I think we have to hit them in the pocketbook. I think they should not be able to take profit if the home is a for-profit facility.

[David] Legislation allows for fines, but no government in Ontario has ever enacted that power. If there are deaths due to that negligence and poor care, I think there should be criminal charges. If the home is not able to provide safe care, they shouldn't be in business. [David] For weeks we've been asking for an interview with Ontario's Ministry of long-term care, but they refuse.

[moderator] David Common at CBC. [David] So we call into a news conference to directly ask the Minister, Merrilee Fullerton. I wonder if this government feels it's actually enforcing the law, if it's being broken repeatedly over and over again, and there aren't consequences as a result. If there's negligence in a home that has a proper legal process to follow. In terms of the inspections, often, you know, there's a list that the inspectors go through to assess. And those things can even be in terms of was the menu the way it was supposed to be? [David] Except we're not talking about menus. Minister, just to be clear, there have been thousands of instances under which these care homes have broken the law for things like abuse and neglect. And virtually none of them have ever faced consequences. So how can you expect a sector to change if there aren't repercussions when the most serious things happen repeatedly? There's no tolerance whatsoever for negligence or abuse.

Let me be absolutely clear about that. [David] But many families don't feel it's clear at all having experienced repeated abuse and neglect and no consequences from the legal system or the government. They feel alone. When David Witta's mom Thelma makes it to hospital at last, he's able to see her. [David W] Hey mom. I did go over to her and I did hold her hand. She grabbed on and squeezed so tight. My mom has a lot of strength. She's strong. [David] She's doing better here. So is David, convinced the system has failed for years to fix its problems... [David W] I love you very much, I'm proud of you, you're doing great. [David] For a devoted son, faced with many unanswered questions, there is now also total clarity. When your mother is well enough to leave hospital, will she go back to the same long-term care home? No, absolutely not.

I made my mind up quite a while ago. My mom is not a cat. She doesn't have nine lives. She's already three times, she's been on death's door, and she's endured, she's fought her way through that. There's no way I could do that again. [David] Share your story about the crisis in Canada's care homes. We're at marketplace@cbc.ca. [Asha] The dirty truth about the biggest chains. Excuse me, there's no soap in the bathroom. [Asha] Caught on camera. Still haven't seen her using the disinfectant. [Asha] Are supermarkets doing enough to keep you safe? Were you worried about getting COVID when you would go into work? Yeah! All the time..