Many years ago attending university in Montreal I worked at a Extendicare nursing home now more commonly referred to as a long-term care facility. I worked in the dining room and as an occasional orderly. The first days were shocking for me with many residents lined up in wheelchairs talking to themselves or with heads drooping many looking catatonic. A faint smell of urine permeated the air. These images and smells remain with me strangely gaining in intensity with age. Absolutely sinister. You never contemplate a long-term care (LTC) facility is in your future but as noted in the documentary there may be no choice!
In “Stolen Time” Toronto based elder rights lawyer Melissa Miller is retained by families of many LTC “victims” who have lost family members in LTC facilities both corporately controlled and some independently owned. Families are looking for accountability and justice over monetary compensation. As most LTC’s are privatized, they are a business that finances themselves by profits and decent care is a threat to net revenue. Staffing shortages, severe dehydration, malnutrition, misdiagnosis, scanty periodontal care, falls, skin wounds, infections and a list of atrocities are common issues reported by families. Often staff and managers are silenced by nondisclosure agreements they have signed so Miller has resorted to the hire of a private detective to film and document conditions her clients have complained about.
Miller’s fight for justice, particularly for judicially recognized standards of care are vigorously defended by deep pocket defendants financially bolstered by record profits. Sickeningly they play the card that pops only had a few years to live and with dementia what quality of life did he have anyways!
And it is not only Miller and affected families we watch and listen to but social workers, former personal support workers, union representatives, accountability and transparency analysts. Miller notes it is easy to blame personal support workers and other LTC staff but they are often left hanging by the profit motive where pleasing analysts and shareholders on quarterly corporate performance updates takes precedence over the delivery of quality care.
The series of illustrations detailing the faults of LTC care facilities by former personal care worker Lisa Alleyne reinforces the messaging of systematic failure in LTC’s. The system is broken and must be reformed.
For many LTC residents poor care shortens life span hence steal time from life.
Theatrical releases in New York and Los Angeles commencing 17October2024.
Director is Helene Klodawsky.
RKS 2024 Film Rating 92/100.
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