Complaints Over Sexual Activity by Residents at Caressant Care Prompted a Ministry Inspection

Wednesday, 3 March 2021 at 13:26

The Ontario Ministry of Long Term Care recently did a complaint inspection at Caressant Care in Woodstock over concerns about sexual activity and the issue of consent amongst residents.

WOODSTOCK - The Ministry of Long Term Care recently conducted an inspection at the Caressant Care Nursing Home in Woodstock.

The complaint was issued regarding sexual activity and the potential for sexual abuse amongst residents in the nursing home. The Ministry of Long Term Care did the complaint inspection in January.

At issue was a resident with dementia who was known to engage in sexual activities with other residents in the home. The report described five separate incidents of sexual touching involving the resident and other residents in the home.

In the report the Ministry found the staff and leadership team did not clearly demonstrate that the resident consented to the touching of a sexual nature. The report also found that after the initial documented incident, the home failed to clearly demonstrate that they had protected the resident from the subsequent sexual touching.

Other findings found more sexual activity amongst residents at the home.

The report stated that Caressant Care failed to ensure that the written policy in place in the home to promote zero tolerance of abuse and neglect of residents, was complied with for residents. The report also found the LTC home failed to protect a resident from sexual abuse. It also found that the licensee has failed to ensure that there was a written plan of care in place for a resident so that staff had clear directions regarding their behaviours.

Heart FM did reach out to Caressant Care for comment. They stated that due to privacy concerns, they are unable to comment on this specific case however they do take such allegations seriously and have plans in place to address any compliance issues.

The report is public record and you can read it in it's entirety online here.