This St. Thomas grandma has been 'stuck' in hospital for over 3 years

A woman whose grandmother has been languishing in an Ontario hospital for more than three years says hospital administrators used pressure tactics and threats to try and force the88-year-old out of their facility and into "substandard" long-term care.

She's one of those bed blockersand the reason is the other options are disgusting.- Liza Jamani

Liza Jamani said her grandmother, ShirinJamani, 88, was first admitted to St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital in November 2014.

Since then, she's been receivingcontinuing care as she waits for a subsidized spot to open up at the nursing home of her choice.

"It's been incredibly stressful on everyone, including my grandma. I'm sure she would love to be in a normal environment, yet she's been stuck in a hospital for about three-and-a-half years," said Jamani, who lives on Prince Edward Island.

"She's one of those bed blockers and thereason is the other options are disgusting."

In a series of emailsfromSt. Thomas Elgin General Hospitalobtained by CBC News, continuing care manager Christine Thompson repeatedly asks Jamaniover a period of two months to send her a list of five options for possible long-term care homes where the hospital can sendher grandmother upon discharge.

"We want the best for your grandmother and for her to remain in hospital is not in her best interest at all, as hospitals are not the place for the elderly," Thompson wrote to Jamanion July 7, 2017.

'They threatened to discharge grandma'

The problem, according to Liza Jamani, is that there's only onenursing home in St. Thomas that's close enough for her70-year-old mother, Almas, to visit Shirin on foot or on public transit. Almas Jamanidoesn't drive.

"My grandma deserves to be in a long-term care home that closely resembles the home she lived in for 45 years, and out of the four possibilities, there was only one,"Jamanisaid."The other three options, they just weren't options."

"There were two that were absolutely disgusting in terms of what I saw and smelled when I was there," she said."I shouldn't have to send my grandmother to substandard care."

Hospitals aren't supposed to behave this way.- Liza Jamani

When Jamanirefused to give the hospital herlist of five possible nursing homes in St. Thomas, she said they suggested her grandmother be sent to a nursing home outside the community.

"They certainly put a lot of pressure on me to make other choices,"Jamanisaid. "They threatened to discharge grandma, they threatened to charge a higher rate for her to stay in the hospital."

"Hospitals are supposed to be safe places. They're supposed to staffed by people who care. They're not supposed to be staffed by individuals who will resort to these kinds of tactics in order to get people out of beds."

"Hospitals aren't supposed to behave this way," Jamani said.

Officials with St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital toldCBCNews Wednesday thatthey couldn't comment on the case until they received permission from thefamily, according the hospitalprivacy officerKimberlyBoughner.

Hospital pressure tactics top list of complaints

In fact, complaints about hospitals using pressure tactics to try to force families to agree to discharge loved ones before they're ready is pretty common, accordingJane Meadus, a staff lawyer at Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, a non-profit organization that provides legal advice to low-income seniors in Ontario.

"It's the number one call in our office. It's increased exponentially over the years," she said. "It's very common and we only see the tip of the iceberg.It happens every day, everywhere all the time."

It's not legal.- Jane Meadus

Meadussaid hospitals will often send letters home to families threatening to charge up to $1,800 a day for patients who don't leave by a certain date, which, she says,is illegal in most cases.

"That is generally not legal," she said."A hospital can't be used as a hotel, but if a person is on a waiting list, waiting for long-term care, they can't."

"Usually when we see those letters, the person is waiting for long-term care and it's not legal."

Systemic issues

Part of the problem is the criteria hospitals use to judge who gets priority for long-term care, according toTeresa Armstrong, the New Democrat MPP for London-Fanshawe and the party's critic for health and long-term care.

"Because Shirin is in a hospital, she's not in crisis," Armstrong said. "People who are at home and in crisis end up bumping other people and getting into long-term care."

"That's a broken system," she said, noting there are at least 30,000 peoplewaiting for long-term care in Ontario.

"This is a symptom of a failure of healthcare not addressing people's needs," she said.

Armstrong said the New Democrats areasking the Ontario Liberal government to expand the scope of the upcoming Wettlaufer inquiry into long-term care in Ontario, to include systemic problems of accessibility for long-term care.

"We hear these stories over and over again and they shouldn't be happening," she said.