Quebec health care home owners to face charges over abuse

Image copyright News & Observer Image caption Springfield is being investigated by New York authorities The owners of a long-term care home in Ontario, Canada, will face criminal charges over the death of a…

Quebec health care home owners to face charges over abuse

Image copyright News & Observer Image caption Springfield is being investigated by New York authorities

The owners of a long-term care home in Ontario, Canada, will face criminal charges over the death of a patient.

An exhumation of Irena Angelica Garcia as well as an autopsy and police probe led to the charge.

The body of Ms Garcia, who died after six years in the home, was found to have several broken ribs.

The family of 63-year-old Ms Garcia is in New York, where they have accused state and local officials of “secretive malpractice” and cover-up.

An investigative team is set to examine whether more than four decades could have been saved for Ms Garcia.

There have been hundreds of complaints made by other residents’ families.

The owner of the home, Michael Van Belleghem, has been jailed in Ontario and sent to a nursing home in New York.

And he now faces criminal charges for the alleged mismanagement of Ms Garcia’s financial affairs, which contributed to her death.

Image copyright Judy Johnson Image caption The collapse of local finances at Cedar Lake Care Home left Ms Garcia in distress

The owners of the home say they were unaware that Ms Garcia had internal injuries and were considering financial payments to the family of the patient.

The allegations made by Ms Garcia’s family, meanwhile, are continuing to be investigated by New York authorities, as well as public health inspectors in both states.

Tragic stories like Irena Angelica Garcia’s are all too common, especially in remote areas of the north, as is increasingly common in modern long-term care homes in Britain.

High care homes are not cheap to run, and need constant tax revenue from local authorities.

Some may be threatened with closure as tax revenues dry up in some parts of the country and a housing boom takes place, meaning traditional private sector models become less economical to run.

Meanwhile in remote areas of the UK, the effect of cuts in local government support services for the elderly and disabled is starting to be felt as local authorities are forced to trim their budgets and fund care at home instead.

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