Wife of man hit over head with stick in dementia care says better monitoring needed

Christine Prosser and her husband, Stan, have had 34 happy years together but more recently, it became clear to her the love of her life could no longer live at home.

She admits trusting him to someone else's care was difficult.

Then, two weeks ago, he wandered into someone else's room on the dementia wing of Bethany Care Society's facility in West Hillhurst and began tidying up papers on the bed.

"On the 16th of July, I got a call to say that my husband had been assaulted," she said.

He had a cut on his forehead and bruises on his arm, saying he'd been hit over the head with a stick twice by the room's occupant.

"No one saw what happened," said Prosser.

"All that anyone saw was my husband coming from the room with a broken stick in his hand and blood coming from his forehead."

She filed a police report but says she was discouraged from pushing for charges.

She's more upset about the level of monitoring in the transitional ward than she is about the other patient.

"All their own personal electronics (should) be banned from the wards and wherever they're working. It should not be allowed because their attention should be on the patients," she said.

Bethany Care Society issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying in part that staff receives "specialized training to manage dementia-related responsive behaviours" and also has "strict guidelines for the use of technology."

A representative says tablets and phones are often part of the home's record-keeping and monitoring.

Stan made a previously planned move to another home just days after the incident, but Prosser says her husband remains fearful of being hurt again, not quite understanding what happened.