Hendrik Van Ryk, chief operating officer for the Surrey-based management company that operates The Hamlets at Westsyde, said staff are working with investigators and recovering from the shock of discovering one of their residents dead at the bottom of a stairwell.
Van Ryk said it’s the first time the residential-care facility, which is run by H&H Total Care Services, has dealt with such a situation.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, 55-year-old Timothy Jay Pyett was found in his wheelchair at the bottom of the stairwell.
Van Ryk said staff immediately followed established protocols and procedures, reporting the death, advising the Interior Health Authority’s licensing department and calling the provincial coroner’s office.
The IHA and the coroner are investigating, Van Ryk said, and he is waiting to hear if the health authority will be bringing in a quality-review team that might make recommendations on more education for staff.
“You need to know we take everyone’s well-being seriously there,”Van Ryk said.
“This is not something you want to repeat.”
Coroner Barb McLintock said there is no clear indicator of what happened.
She said Pyett was not ambulatory and relies on a wheelchair to get around the facility.
McLintock said some time after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Pyett, still in his wheelchair, made his way to a staircase and fell down it.
In Pyett’s obituary notice, donations to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada are requested.
Karen Bloemink, the IHA’s executive director for residential services, said a member of the health authority’s licensing department was at The Hamlets the morning after the incident and the investigation continues.
Bloemink said the review will include a variety of aspects and identify any deficiencies that need to be addressed, from resources to education.
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