Troubling conditions at care homes exposed
Military personnel providing help during pandemic reveal problems with system in 23-page report
Cockroach infestations, residents left to wallow in soiled diapers, COVID-19 patients allowed to wander around, forceful feeding of the elderly, and a “culture of fear to use supplies because those cost money.”
Those are some of the horrifying findings uncovered by Armed Forces personnel dispatched to help in five Ontario nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a searing 23-page military report by Brig. Gen. Conrad Mialkowski made public Tuesday, Ontario’s troubled longterm-care system — where 1,538 residents and six staff members have died of COVID-19 — is laid bare.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who alerted Premier Doug Ford to Mialkowski’s revelations, expressed outrage at the situation in the four forprofit homes and the one nonprofit facility.
“I was sad. I was shocked. I was disappointed. I was angry. I believe we are talking about a situation that clearly is a reality associated with COVID-19, but has also existed for quite some time,” said Trudeau.
Ford, who was visibly upset as he spoke with reporters during his Queen’s Park teleconference, said a provincial coroner’s investigation has begun and its findings could be referred to police for possible criminal charges.
The premier, who has already promised an “independent commission” to examine the long-term-care crisis, conceded a full public inquiry may be “on the table.”
“I don’t believe it’s just five. We have to do a deep, deep dive into all the homes and we’re going to need the resources to do that,” Ford said, adding all nursing homes must be “stabilized” as quickly as possible and with federal help.
“I inherited this system. The buck stops with me. I take full ownership. My job is to fix a broken system that’s been broken for decades. We’re going to fix the system, no matter what it takes, no matter what cost,” he said. “Did we know the absolute extent until I read this report? Not at all. It was gutwrenching. It’s appalling, it’s disgusting what has happened.”
Asked why it took the military to blow the whistle when Ontario has 175 inspectors for 626 nursing homes, the premier appeared to fault his government’s own inspection regime.
“Yes, inspections happen and these folks come in there, but it took the military to be there 24-7 every single day,” he said. Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton, who installed temporary management in two other homes in North York and Sutton on Monday, said COVID-19 pushed nursing homes “over the brink.”
But an outraged NDP Leader
Andrea Horwath, pointing to investigations by media outlets like the Toronto Star over the years, said “this is not news” that some nursing homes are “inhumane.”
“We cannot allow Doug Ford to waste another second,” said Horwath.
Some 1,650 troops were deployed in response to provincial calls for help to care for residents in the homes — about 250 in Ontario and 1,400 in Quebec.
At the Eatonville Care Centre in Etobicoke, where the report said workers were “afraid for their jobs,” there were “COVID-19 positive residents allowed to wander” and not enough personal protective equipment to keep staff safe.
Military personnel discovered a “general culture of fear to use supplies because they cost money (fluid bags, dressings, gowns, gloves, etc.)” as well as “expired medication” being used on patients. At least 42 people have died at Eatonville.
Residents were not allowed to have an extra soaking pad for their beds if they became soiled and CAF members “witnessed aggressive behaviour” that they believed was “abusive/inappropriate.”
At Scarborough’s Altamont Care Community, where 52 people have died, most residents were not getting three meals a day due to “significant staffing issues.” The military reported “poor nutritional status due to underfeeding.” A significant number of residents had pressure ulcers due to prolonged bed rest, in some cases for weeks. “No evidence of residents being moved to wheelchair for parts of day, repositioned in bed, or washed properly.”
A common theme was a lack of staff, which meant little time to properly care for and attend to residents. At one home, staff were “overworked, seem burned out and have no time off (some have not seen their families for weeks),” the report said.
At Pickering’s Orchard Villa, “cockroaches and flies” were present while patients were “left in beds soiled in diapers.” One of the 69 deaths at Orchard Villa has been referred to the coroner for investigation.
“Respecting dignity of patients not always a priority. Caregiver burnout noted among staff,” the report said.
As of Monday, 39 members of the military working in the long-term-care homes have tested positive for the virus — 15 in Ontario and 24 in Quebec. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said the military knew it was going into a “high-risk” environment when it deployed to long-term-care homes.
There are 1,855 nursinghome residents with active cases of COVID-19, along with 1,355 workers who had been caring for them, and outbreaks continue in 150 of the province’s more than 600 long-termcare facilities. Nursing home employees are the largest cohort of the more than 4,000 health-care workers who have contracted COVID-19 in the province.