B.C. kept report on pandemic's effect on long-term care homes under wraps
The B.C. government ordered a review last summer of the pandemic's deadly effect on care homes with an eye to learning lessons, but never made it public.
Groups representing care home providers and workers confirmed they were consulted by Ernst & Young — a global professional services company — as part of the review commissioned by the B.C. Ministry of Health.
The ministry refused an interview request. On Thursday, in a written response, Health Ministry spokesman Stephen May said the report would be released next week, characterizing it as “a minor report designed to assist ministry staff in addressing issues.”
The disclosure of the review comes as the B.C. government is under criticism for a lack of transparency on what's been happening in long-term care homes, prompting them recently to release homeby-home coronavirus infection and death statistics. The NDP government had been particularly critical of the former Liberal government for keeping reports secret and not releasing them in a timely or complete manner.
The Ernst & Young review began before the second wave of infections that hit the province last fall, which has proved particularly deadly for long-term care homes. At last count, there had been nearly 640 deaths in care homes, more than 60 per cent of the total COVID-19 deaths in B.C.
The B.C. government did not respond to any of Postmedia's questions, which included when the review started, its due date, its terms of reference, who was consulted, its cost, whether it was meant to produce recommendations and why it wasn't made public.
The province also didn't respond to Postmedia's question on whether the review was meant to produce insights or changes before the second wave.
SafeCare B.C. CEO Jennifer Lyle said it was a “good question” when asked if it would have made sense to have review results ready before the second wave.
“I honestly can't speak for the processes and motivations of the ministry,” said Lyle. “I would love to see a copy — we've made that clear.”
SafeCare B.C., a safety agency that represents care providers and workers, was consulted for the review in the summer. The group put out a questionnaire to their members and also held focus groups, with front-line workers and managers, said Lyle. She said the primary purpose for the component they participated in was looking at what happened in the first wave, what were the lessons learned, and what could potentially be done differently.
The B.C. Care Providers Association, which represents private and non-profit owners of care homes, was also consulted by Ernst & Young in the summer.
Mike Klassen, the association's vice-president of public affairs, noted the review was done in the “sweet spot” between the first and second wave. He said he was led to believe the review was to be complete by October.
Klassen said he hadn't seen a copy of a report or been given any indication when the province was planning to release one.
“We are extremely concerned that information might be held back that would help us to defend against COVID in long-term care.”
He said the motivation for the review wasn't explained, but noted any competent organization would want to review their actions, particularly in a crisis.
The care providers association, like SafeCare B.C., has been calling for rapid testing of long-term care staff and residents where infections are detected, a measure the B.C. government was resisting.
The Hospital Employees' Union, which represents more than 20,000 care home workers, said it was consulted for the review in September and as late as November.
HEU secretary-business manager Mike Old said he wasn't “really” sure about the terms of reference.
Old said the HEU told Ernst & Young there were a lot of challenges in the long-term care system because it is fragmented with various forms of ownership, many collective agreements, and varying wages and benefits.
That made it much more challenging to implement the single-site order early in the pandemic that prohibited care aides, for example, from working at several care homes, said Old.
A search by Postmedia turned up no record of a contract with Ernst & Young in the province's tender database, B.C. Bid. There was also no record of a direct-award contract contained in the province's open information website.
The Health Ministry did not answer Postmedia's questions on how the contract was awarded.
In the first seven months of the pandemic, between March and September, there were 149 deaths in care homes, according to information from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
The death toll in care homes has jumped dramatically in the fourmonth period since October, with 490 deaths.