MORE ON CANADA'S NURSING HOMES SCANDAL

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story "Federal leadership needed for nursing homes to improve quality care". The article is written by a Nicole Bernier. The basic scandal has been in the news for several months now. Numerous studies have found that increasingly nursing homes are using inappropriate drugs to "handle" elderly residents rather than proper nursing care and attention. These drugs include antipsychotics as well as antidepressants. It turns out that the use of antipsychotics for residents sufferring from dementia can increase their risk of death by 60%. Basically it's all about goverment underfunding and staff shortages. Ms. Bernier feels that meaningful involvement from the federal government is an absolute necessity. This involvement would include national standards for longterm care as well as better funding.

They say a society is judged by how they care for their most vulnerable. By this standard Canada has nothing to be proud of.