Two health aides have been charged with assaulting residents of Oakview Place in Winnipeg

Two health aides have been charged with assaulting residents of a Winnipeg personal care home — a facility that reportedly knew about abuse allegations as early as February but did not report them to regional health authorities or police.

Care aides are accused of inappropriate physical acts against five residents of Extendicare Oakview Place, in Winnipeg’s Sturgeon Heights neighborhood, between August 2021 and January 2022, a spokesperson for the Winnipeg Police Service said.

As a result, none of the victims required medical attention.

“Their investigation was quite lengthy and involved numerous interviews with witnesses, potential witnesses; they would talk to family members as well as the victims themselves,” Winnipeg police said. Danny McKinnon said in an interview Tuesday.

“[Investigators] concluded that assault charges were most appropriate to pursue.”

A 49-year-old woman and a 36-year-old woman were arrested Monday, police said Tuesday. The former is charged with three counts of assault, while the latter is charged with two counts.

Both were released from custody with a number of conditions.

The charges come after Winnipeg regional health authorities said in June that two whistleblowers came forward with allegations that two aides abused 15 residents of the private care home.

The allegations were first brought to the attention of Extendicare local management by a whistleblower in February, the health authority said.

However, WRHA was not informed until it was contacted directly by another whistleblower on June 10, according to a news release later that month.

Although 15 residents were alleged to have been assaulted, only five residents were charged.

It’s unclear if more charges will be filed, McKinnon said Tuesday.

“At this stage I have no indication of any other victims,” ​​she said.

In an online statement Tuesday, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said its staff are now making regular visits to Oakview Place to identify and mitigate any risks and ensure resident care is up to standards.

“The alleged actions of these two employees are not a reflection of the values ​​or the safe, compassionate and quality care that the majority of personal care home workers provide every day,” the statement said.

The two health aides remain on leave, the release said.

At a press conference in June, an Extendicare spokesman said the fact that neither health authorities nor the police were notified of the allegations in February was a breach of company protocol.

“It is completely unacceptable that this did not happen and for that we apologize unreservedly to the residents, their families and to WRHA,” Sandra Goers, the company’s Manitoba regional director and director of operational quality for Western Canada, said at the time. .

“You deserved better than this and we will do better.”

Operating License Review: NDP

In an email sent to the families of Oakview Place residents on Tuesday, obtained by CBC News, Extendicare said it was told by police that the two health aides facing criminal charges were not allowed on site, nor were they allowed to be in contact with any of the victims.

The company says it will hold a virtual town hall Wednesday to answer family questions.

Uzoma Asagwara, health and senior care critic for Manitoba’s opposition NDP, echoed earlier calls for an immediate provincial review of Extendicare’s operating license.

The Progressive Conservative government should also appoint an advocate for seniors “to give a voice to seniors and their families,” the Union Station MLA said in a statement Tuesday.

When the abuse allegations were made public in June, Winnipeg’s regional health authority said the facility’s license was not under review.

CBC News has requested comment from the provincial government and Shared Health, the provincial organization responsible for overseeing health services in the province.