'No evidence of remorse' shown: Arbitrator
After a nursing home resident in New Brunswick soiled his clothing, an attendant become overly aggressive with cleaning and care.
Attendants Mark Roy and Polly O’Donnell attended the resident’s room (identified as “X”) at the Campbellton Nursing Home in Campbellton, N.B., on Aug. 22, 2015, when he needed to be changed. When she arrived in the room, Roy appeared red-faced and began ranting about another worker’s actions, said O’Donnell.
Roy complained that “(the previous attendant) gave X a fleet (enema) and now X is full of s---. I should just leave X like that,” said O’Donnell.
As a result, the resident’s clothing needed to be changed. X suffered from dementia and required special care. Attendants were supposed to leave the patient alone during difficult times and return after a period of calm.
But Roy insisted that X had to be cleaned immediately. O’Donnell said the patient began to lash out physically so Roy grabbed the patient’s arms and torso in an effort to restrain him, despite O’Donnell’s protests.
At one point, O’Donnell said she thought, “(Roy) was going to rip his head off or break his arm.”
When they attempted to move the patient, Roy manually grabbed X and forced him onto a chair without using a canvas lift, which was protocol. O’Donnell testified if she didn’t place her foot beside the chair leg to steady it, the patient may have landed on the floor due to Roy’s rough treatment.
When the patient was secured in the chair and the cleaning was complete, O’Donnell left the room because she was too distraught. She later mentioned something briefly to Jane Van Horne, supervising registered nurse, and promised to further elaborate the next day.
On Aug. 23, O’Donnell told Van Horne about what happened. When Roy arrived at work later, Van Horne spoke with him but he wasn’t responsive. “He was just listening,” said Van Horne.
Barbara Foley, director of nursing, and Ken Murray, administrator, met with Roy on Aug. 27 to discuss the incident.
During the meeting, Roy admitted his behaviour was not appropriate but offered no explanation as to why. Beverley Mann, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 2354, testified, “(Roy) did not say much” and his “head was down” the whole time.
Roy was suspended by Murray pending further investigation.
On Aug. 31, Roy was terminated for abusing a resident, both verbally and physically.
The report was escalated to the New Brunswick department of social services and Roy was invited to attend a meeting. But he refused to meet with investigators.
Sandy Lapointe, Roy’s wife, testified that he had been experiencing severe stress due to the health of his father and that could be an indicator of his mental state during the incident.
CUPE grieved the dismissal and argued Roy did not show malice toward X at any point, despite his actions. It said he should have been given further training to help better deal with problem patients.
The union argued that because Roy was allowed to finish his shift and attend work over the next few days, the employer therefore considered the incident to be not severe.
Arbitrator Michel Doucet dismissed the grievance and said Roy’s reluctance to participate in the hearing or the ministry investigation contributed to his finding.
“Roy was offered many opportunities to explain his behaviour, but he never gave any. There was no evidence of remorse on his part and no evidence that at any time he apologized for his actions.”
Nursing home attendants require “care, compassion, devotion, patience and professionalism,” said Doucet, and these weren’t provided by Roy.
“The words and actions of Roy towards patient X were demeaning, humiliating and unprofessional. This kind of attitude is unacceptable and constitutes abuse,” said Doucet.
Reference: Campbellton Nursing Home and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 2354. Michel Doucet — arbitrator. Sophie Noël for the employer. Michel Boudreau, René Doucet for the employee. Oct. 2, 2016.
