Police probe death of care-home resident, citing possible 'negligence'

A patient in hospital is shown in this file photo.

Halifax police are investigating the death of a 40-year-old woman with spina bifada for possible criminal negligence after her family raised concerns about her care at a long-term care facility.

Const. Carol McIsaac said that officers received a report from family members on May 23 that the resident of Parkstone Enhanced Care died at the city's QEII Health Sciences Centre months earlier.

McIsaac said the relatives were concerned about the care she had received at the Clayton Park facility.

"They raised concerns in relation to the medical condition that she had been transported to the hospital for treatment of," McIsaac said Friday.

"This medical condition was not a pre-existing condition prior to it developing at the facility where she was staying."

Police did not identify the woman, but two women who grew up with Chrissy Dunnington have confirmed it's her death that investigators are looking into.

Dorothy Dunnington, 53, and Elizabeth Deveau, 60, said Chrissy was brought into their parents' home as a foster child at just a few weeks of age. They say that she was considered a permanent member of their family and lived with their parents almost all of her life.

"She was very special to our lives. We call her a rainbow, she was the light of our lives," said Dunnington, recalling how Chrissy loved to laugh and listen to music.

Dunnington and Deveau say Chrissy only developed a severely infected bedsore during her 15 months at the nursing home, and had to be rushed to hospital in January due to the infection.

They said she was healthy when she was admitted to the Parkstone in 2016, but that she was confined to a wheelchair due to spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

Dunnington said that during visits to the home they noticed Chrissy wasn't properly seated and "was often slouched ... every time we went to visit we had to reposition her and sit her up properly."

Matt Proctor, the vice-president of marketing and communications for Shannex Inc., Parkstone's owner, declined an interview and issued a brief statement in response Friday.

"We take this matter seriously and will fully co-operate with the Halifax Police. Given that this investigation will take some time, we will respectfully limit any further comment," he said in an email.

On its website, Parkstone says it has 194 residents, including seniors requiring nursing home care and four respite guests.

Dunnington and Deveau members say they hope a series of stories about Chrissy's death published in the Halifax Chronicle Herald, and now a police investigation, will lead to improved care for adults who have disabilities, and need higher levels of care in nursing homes.

"We're very saddened that it has come to this, but we're glad police are taking it seriously," said Dunnington in an interview.

Interim Progressive Conservative Leader Karla MacFarlane issued a statement calling the death a "tragic example of how the health crisis is failing Nova Scotians."

MacFarlane also urged the provincial Liberal government to co-operate with the investigation and require the Health Department to report unexpected deaths at nursing homes.

"It shouldn't be up to a grieving family, like the Dunningtons, to engage the police," the statement said. "Families expect their government to ensure their loved ones are treated well in nursing homes."

The NDP, meanwhile, called on the province to make nursing home inspections public.

On Thursday, the Department of Health and Wellness said it was "taking action to improve wound care in long-term care facilities and ensure consistent standards across the province."

All long-term care homes must immediately report "pressure wounds" and "serious pressure ulcers" to the province, and have wound-care protocols in place, it said.

Police say the woman had been taken to hospital by emergency health services on Jan. 28 to be treated for an unspecified medical condition. She died in hospital about eight weeks later on March 22.

"Right now we're gathering the evidence, speaking with witnesses and looking at medical records, to determine whether or not there was any negligence in her care that may be linked her to her death," McIsaac said.

She asked anyone with information about the case to contact them or Crime Stoppers.