The Quebec Human Rights Commission has ordered the regional health agency in the Beauce to pay $160,000 to victims of elder abuse at five long-term care facilities in the area.

The call for compensation follows a four-year investigation into allegations of physical and verbal abuse against 13 seniors, in their 80s and 90s at the time, who lived in homes in the region southeast of Quebec City.

Eight of the victims have since died.

The commission concluded that the patients were hostages to the moods of their caregivers and neglected on a regular basis.

"We found people who had been sitting in their soiled diapers for hours on end. We now call it 'the diaper wars,' " said Huguette Giroux, director of the Centre de santé et services sociaux de la Beauce.

The abuse robbed the victims of their dignity, Giroux said. "These were often vulnerable people who couldn't even speak," she said Tuesday afternoon.

Four employees at the five homes have since been fired, and one was suspended.

The money will be paid to victims who are still alive, and to the families of those who aren't, Giroux said.

Nursing homes improving

Long-term care facilities for the elderly are improving, Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard said  in response to the Beauce report.

Surprise visits by inspectors and better staff management have acted in tandem to increase the quality of care in most facilities, he said Wednesday.

"We have ended the culture of silence. People now are invited to speak out. They are doing it when we visit the residences. We have absolutely no tolerance for these types of events."

Unannounced inspections will continue, and soon private nursing homes will be subject to them, Couillard added.