 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
May 20, 2005. 05:38 PM
TONY BOCK/TORONTO STAR
Peel police divers recover the body of Randy Mogridge from Sixteen Mile Creek in Oakville Nov. 11. The 46-
year-old autistic man had been missing for two weeks.
No inquest into Oakville home deaths
FROM CANADIAN PRESS
The mother of an autistic man who died after wandering away from a home for mentally disabled adults
expressed bitter disappointment today that the facility where he lived won’t come under the scrutiny of a
coroner’s inquest.
Randy Mogridge, 46, became the 10th resident of the Oaklands Regional Centre in Oakville, Ont., to die in
four years after he wandered away from the facility last October, prompting a frantic search that ended two
weeks later when his body was found in a nearby creek.
But the Ontario coroner’s office, which conducted a six-month investigation into the facility after Mogridge’s
death, said today it would inform families privately of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their
loved ones, rather than holding an inquest.
“They keep it hidden,” said Mogridge’s mother, Gloria. “I really wanted an inquest because a lot of questions
haven’t been answered.”
Dr. Bonita Porter, Ontario’s deputy chief coroner of inquests, said today the probe was thorough enough to
produce 11 recommendations.
“They hope to satisfy us, but I’m not satisfied,” said Mogridge, who said she doubts anything substantive will
be done to improve the lives of the mentally disabled in Ontario.
“You fight and you fight and you fight; I’ve been fighting for 46 years and I’m tired,” she said. “Our society is
not doing right by these people, and it has to change.”
The report released today classified Mogridge’s drowning as one of three “tragic accidents,” including the
death of a severe spastic quadriplegic who became trapped between his mattress and the bed rails, and an
epileptic who drowned in the bathtub.
Three others died from gastrointestinal perforations. Two of them had been diagnosed with pica, a form of
eating disorder common among those with developmental disabilities that leads to the chronic ingestion of
non-edible items.
The remaining four died from natural diseases.
Changes already made at the centre in response to the those incidents, along with the 11 recommendations
made today, made an inquiry unnecessary, Porter said.
Among the recommendations:
That the Ontario government work with Oaklands Regional Centre to clarify what services are to be offered
at the facility;
Adequate funding from the province once that role is clarified;
Requiring the centre to work with the local hospital to make clear the unique health-care requirements of
their patients;
A review of how the centre administers medication;
A review of the staff’s ability to provide health-care services.
Representatives from both the government and Oaklands said it is crucial that a decision be made on the
future of the facility.
“We do ultimately have to decide; we can’t leave it hanging out there,” said Social Services Minister Sandra
Pupatello. The government could opt to shut down the facility, she acknowledged.
“Now that we’ve got these recommendations, we’ll be doing a review of them and see that the future of
Oaklands is solid, one way or the other.”
A decision on the centre’s future will likely take several weeks as the government reviews the coroner’s
recommendations and those from the province’s own review, she added.
The Ontario government took control of Oaklands on Nov. 25 after another resident wandered away late at
night less than two weeks after Mogridge’s body was found.
The fate of the facility, which houses about 70 people, has been a focus of discussion for some time, said
Oaklands executive director Sheila Masters.
“I think that’s a very important recommendation that the future of Oaklands be clarified,” said Masters,
noting that while Oaklands can provide basic care, government cutbacks have impacted the quality of life of
its residents.
“In my view, it can continue to play the important role it plays in the community.”