CARE HOME HORRORS
Soldiers detail conditions
Ontario Premier Doug Ford vowed justice for the province’s elderly Tuesday after releasing a report from the Canadian Armed Forces serving in longterm care homes that said staff left people in soiled diapers and ignored calls for help.
The report described one resident who choked to death after being fed while lying down, said there was “significant” fecal contamination in resident rooms and infestations of cockroaches and flies.
Residents at one home were bed-bound for weeks, with a “significant” number having pressure ulcers. Due to severe staffing issues, “most” residents were not receiving three meals a day.
The report also detailed the repeated use of equipment between residents without proper cleaning and a “culture of fear” among staff at one home about using supplies because they cost money, something the military said could have contributed to the spread of COVID-19.
Ford called it “the most heart-wrenching report” he’s ever read in his life.
He called in military assistance last month for five long-term care homes dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks.
Nursing homes account for around 80 per cent of all deaths attributed to the new coronavirus in Canada. The situation is dire in Ontario and Quebec, where around 1,400 soldiers are working.
During an emotional news conference Tuesday, Ford said, “COVID-19 has exposed deep cracks in the long-term care system and it is now up to us to fix these problems. This tragedy must serve as a wake-up call to our whole country.”
The province has asked the military to remain in the five long-term care homes, all in the Greater Toronto Area, for an additional 30 days. It has also forwarded the report on one death to the provincial coroner. Police could decide to lay criminal charges for neglect, Ford said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was shocked and angry. He reiterated Canada needed to do a better job of caring for seniors.
During his news conference, Ford described reading the report from the 4th Canadian Division Joint Task Force as the hardest thing he had done as premier, adding: “Until yesterday morning, we didn’t know the full extent of what these homes, what these residents, were dealing with.”
But the horrifying details came as no surprise to close observers and critics of Ontario’s long-term care system, who have long charged that the province’s nursing homes have been neglected for years, leaving families stunned as they’ve watched loved ones face pain, fear and inadequate care.
“These are the kinds of complaints we hear all the time,” said Jane Meadus, lawyer with the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly. “It took somebody from the outside to show what was going on.”
Meadus said seeing the litany of serious issues in a single report gave it more impact and the loss of family care during the pandemic had likely made many chronic problems worse, but similar issues could be found in the government’s own inspection reporting system.
“There wasn’t anything in the report that particularly surprised me. We hear it on a daily basis.”
The province’s system of inspecting and holding homes to account is not effective, she said, staffing levels continue to be inadequate and there is no minimum standard of care for residents, which means staff are forced to rush through daily care.
Candace Rennick, secretary treasurer of CUPE Ontario and a former personal support worker, said frontline workers had also been raising similar issues for years and getting ignored.
“Nothing in that report is going to be any surprise for those of us working on the front lines,” Rennick said. “(I guess) it takes the military to get some action. It would be nice for front-line voices to get heard, as well.”
The Ontario government has announced it will call an independent investigation into the province’s long-term care system in September. Critics want an independent inquiry. On Tuesday, Ford said he was not ruling out anything.
The five homes that were the focus of the report are among the worst hit by COVID-19 in the province. Ford said he knew they were not the only homes with problems.
They are Orchard Villa in Pickering, which has had 77 deaths from COVID-19 as of Monday, Altamount Care Community in Scarborough with 52 deaths, Eatonville in Etobicoke with 42 deaths, Hawthorne Place in North York with 43 deaths and Holland Christian Homes Grace Manor in Brampton with 11.
Ford rejected a question about whether his government should have acted sooner to protect long-term care residents before the pandemic put them at extreme risk.
“I don’t feel our government failed seniors. As a matter of fact, we saved a lot of lives by doing what we did. The system was broken.”