I receive the odd email

I received this email the other day

Hello Royce,

You may be interested in this story:

RCMP squad enters BC condo without legal authority, apprehends couple in their 70s

If you can, we would appreciate you spreading the word to your friends and colleagues far and wide. Mainstream media seems not to want to expose these stories.

Thank you,

It is a scary story and if it is true, it raises a number of issues:

Issues I see: 

1. The rights of the Police to enter a home without permission in Canada

I understand the police have this right but it appears from the story that in this case, they overstepped their boundaries.

 2. What happens when seniors are discharged from a hospital. From this story, it appears that there was no regard, at least initially about how the senior could bet home, and it appears that only after some time did he get help because he was never admitted, which raises questions about why? For example, did the police know that the reason for the detention was false?

According to Wicks, two doctors eventually arrived, one of whom he describes as a young emergency physician and the other one, a geriatric psychiatrist. Wicks was interviewed by each doctor separately. “I asked each of the doctors why I was brought there, but they said they didn’t know! They appeared to be as mystified as I was [about] why I was there.” After the doctors left, Wicks said, “I asked the attending nurse if I was still detained. The nurse replied, ‘You were never admitted.’ 

3. The right to be detained under the Mental Health Act. The police have this authority, but according to the story they did not let the doctors at the hospital know why the senior was in the hospital and once he was questioned by the Dr. they let him go. Can the police, it appears arbitrarily pick up a senior and put them into the hospital for no reason?

4. The refusal of Nanaimo General Hospital to recognize the wifes' Power of Attorney and Representation Agreement and then their decision to hold her in the hospital and appoint social workers to be her guardian without due process for her husband.

Although he holds Power of Attorney for his wife Eileen and is her legal substitute decision-maker according to her Representation Agreement, Trevor Wicks says he was not contacted by the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH). And, initially, NRGH only permitted their daughter, who resides in Qualicum Beach, to visit Eileen. It was not until five days later that the hospital permitted Mr. Wicks to see his wife.

On Monday, January 17 Wicks was told by his daughter that apparently “Parksville social workers have taken custody” of Eileen, but that NRGH would discharge her back home the following day, on Tuesday.

The authorities have been contacted for information but have not yet responded.

5. The final two paragraphs in the story are very alarming to me. If the last statement is true it should be investigated 

“Police in Canada execute hundreds of no-knock raids each year, The Fifth Estate has learned. The controversial tactic, also called dynamic entry, involves heavily armed police who enter a home unannounced when they believe the suspect might be armed or destroy evidence. In Canada, once police get their search warrant approved, they get to decide if they will barge in. But experts worry this tactic is trampling on people’s charter rights and say more oversight is needed.”

Similar assaults on older members of our society are increasing, but most incidents are kept well out of the public eye due to the power and control exerted by authorities, the virtual absence of consequences, and the lack of meaningful oversight.

If you or anyone you know has any further information about this incident or similar ones, or about the family that may pertain to this story, please contact Second Opinion QB by email at info@secondopinionqb.ca, as we are continuing to investigate this incident for possible follow-up story(ies).

Send your comments and concerns, ideally by email or letter, to government bodies, especially the BC Ministry of Health, BC Seniors Advocate, your MP and your MLA, and the BC Attorney General. You can also use social media to contact these organizations and elected representatives. This is the first group that should be contacted. 

Please do not reveal any personal details about the Wicks, as you might inadvertently cause problems for them. 

It is fine though, to convey your support for the couple, info about your personal friendships, etc. and of course, any general concerns about the actions taken by authorities.

Too many drugs being used by seniors

 According to the Deprescribing Network, seniors are taking too many drugs that may cause seniors harm.

Inappropriate medication use means taking more medications than needed, taking medication for longer than is needed, or when the potential for harm outweighs the potential for benefit.

Nearly $2B is spent yearly on potentially inappropriate medications and their consequences in older adults.

In 2020, Canadians filled over 750 million prescriptions (IQVIA 2020). Medications can help us in many different ways. However, when medications are not used appropriately, they put Canadians at risk of harm:

Older adults, women, people taking multiple medications, and people living in low-income neighbourhoods are at the greatest risk of medication harm.

Medication harms include falls, fractures, memory problems, car crashes, premature loss of independence, and death.

Older Canadians are taking medications that may do more harm than good and we need to take steps to reduce the number of drugs being taken by seniors.

The Antidote:  A Six-Step National Strategy for Appropriate Medication Use

The use of too many medications and medications known to be risky leads to unnecessary patient harm and health system costs. Canada urgently needs a strategy for appropriate medication use to tackle this problem. Our strategy proposes a national organization to coordinate and support evidence-based interventions with and for jurisdictions. This would promote efficient use of resources and allow jurisdictions to build on the learnings and interventions of others. Jurisdictions would have the freedom to select intervention programs that most fit within their needs or context, and in which timeframe. Evaluation would be completed externally, at the level of the national coordinating organization/

 

 

 

 

Giving Your Time Away

 One joy of retirement is that you are into a time of life when making a buck and worrying about using your time “profitably” is less of an issue. But it’s not entirely accurate that all senior citizens want to retire to spend the day rocking on the back porch and taking long naps. Human beings are by nature workers and doers and that need to be productive and be a part of something bigger than yourself doesn’t go away the day you stop working for a living.

Therefore, volunteering is such a great way for senior citizens to use the time and talents they have to benefit others. And more and more, nonprofit and community service organizations are finding a rich resource of free and enthusiastic talent in the ranks of senior citizens. For the senior citizen, the chance to volunteer for a cause gives them a chance to feel important and useful. It provides human contact outside of their age group, which is often a frustration for seniors. While seniors love being with those of their own generation, it’s just as important for them to be with people the age of their kids, young people, teenagers and children regularly. In addition, volunteering gives seniors a chance to invest themselves in something they believe strongly in and do so with a greater depth of commitment than they ever could before they retired.

The opportunities for volunteering in the community are so diverse that you can literally find a volunteering opportunity to fit any retirement situation and any temperament type or area of interest. Here are a few great volunteering ideas just to start the list.

If you have had a life of commitment to your church, there is always a need for volunteers to work on ongoing projects there. Many churches operate libraries, youth and family centres and schools who thrive on volunteers to keep reaching out to the community with these services.

If you love the outdoors, the parks service may use you to help with upkeep projects on city lands. You can also help coordinate charity events such as fun runs and marathons, which will get you plenty of fresh air and do good for others along the way.

The arts often use volunteers, and you get to take part in great artistic programs. Opportunities like ushering at plays or music events at the local theatre, serving at the admittance desk or conducting tours at the museum or helping to build sets for the local theatre group can be great fun for an outgoing senior citizen.

For senior citizens who are homebound or introverted, they can find work stuffing envelopes, doing internet research or making phone calls for charitable causes from the comfort and safety of their living room.

For the retired senior who is good with tools and loaded with knowledge and talent about construction, habitat for humanity is an outstanding and ongoing program that will use those skills to the fullest. Missions programs from local churches also find great work for talented seniors who want to help the less fortunate.

These are just the tip of the ice burg of the great ways senior citizens can volunteer. Seniors are great volunteers because they are full of life and energy, but are patient and skilled at managing projects because of a lifetime of achievement. Therefore, volunteering is a perfect match for the needs of seniors to get out and engage in life. And they make a real difference in important causes along the way.

Bringing in the New Blood

 When a senior finds a new romantic partner late, it’s a tremendous occasion for both. Romances later can give a considerable desired source of togetherness and passion that could be missed if the senior has suffered a spouse or is progressing through their golden years alone. But it’s natural for youngsters to feel some apprehension when they see their parents enjoying the company of another in their lives. And helping the children to accept your new sweetheart or companion, especially if that romance is going to result in marriage.

Part of your children’s resistance to your dating comes from anxiety about losing their parent, which may be just as deep and lasting grief as you had in losing your wife or husband. It may seem strange, but often it is the children of the marriage who go through the longest grief when a parent passes on. You may have already moved along in your processing of that loss much more than they. To children, the parents are a permanent institution and the idea that one of them would go away seems inconceivable. And this feeling often survives well into adulthood.

So that is the first big change your family has to make when they see you enjoying the company of the opposite sex. You must assure them you will not replace mom or dad in their hearts and that this romance will never remove the love you cherish for that departed spouse. To the children, that love must endure forever because it is the foundation of their concept of family, which is a big part of their own identity as well, even though one parent may have passed away.

This is the next step in life that calls for you, the senior citizen and the wise old Grandma or Grandpa in the family mix to use some of that sensitivity and wisdom of your years to help your children and even grandchildren accept your new romance and evolve with you to a new phase of life. If you have the chance as you begin a new relationship, the time to begin the acceptance process is before that friendship becomes a romance.

By sitting down with your children and discussing that this will happen, even before it happens, you begin the acceptance process. In their minds and emotional systems, they understand your need for companionship and for love and romance. You need that as much as they do. So you explain it to them.

Then, as you see a romantic interest, be open with the family about what you are doing. Adult children can even get to where they will be your advisor and your cheerleaders as you enjoy a new era of dating and romance. Once that area of life is open, then when you do “bring home the date to meet the family”, it won’t be such a difficult thing. 

But by keeping the adult children always in the loop, they can talk with one another, agree that this is the best possible thing for you and even work to help the grandkids accept your new romance. Before long, he or she will come for dinner, join in the holidays and really become part of the family. Just as you opened your heart when your kids were dating and finding new loves, you will teach your kids to open their hearts to someone who is becoming important to you. It’s a cycle of life, but if we handle it lovingly and honestly, it’s a good cycle.