Page 8 Horror at care homes
Three weeks after the first coronavirus death at his Canadian care home, June Morrison’s father was admitted to hospital with anorexia, a urinary tract infection, chronic dehydration and suspected Covid-19. George Morrison died days later.
‘‘He looked like a prisoner of war,’’ Ms Morrison, who is suing the Orchard Villa care home in Pickering, Ontario for negligence and breach of contract, told The Times. ‘‘I believe there will be criminal charges related to my father’s death.’’
Morrison’s death, which has been referred to a coroner for investigation, is one of thousands that could prompt an overhaul of Canada’s care sector after the discovery that 80 per cent of the country’s coronavirus deaths occurred in care homes.
‘‘He could have been here for his 96th birthday in September,’’ Ms Morrison said.
A report released this week by the army chronicled horrific conditions at long-term care homes, where residents were left in soiled nappies for hours on end, their cries for help ignored. Some 1400 soldiers were deployed to provide urgent care in facilities in Ontario and Quebec. The report has enraged the public and shocked officials as Canada comes to terms with having failed its elderly during the crisis.
Military medics deployed to Ontario’s five worst-hit homes found rotten food, cockroaches, ant infestations and rooms contaminated with faeces. At Orchard Villa, a 294-bed home where 74 residents died and 225 contracted the virus, one resident choked while receiving medication lying down, possibly contributing to their death, the report said.
The facility did not respond to requests for comment from the Times.
At the Eatonville Care Centre, where 42 residents died, patients with Covid-19 were left to wander the corridors. Workers at Manoir Verdun in Quebec, meanwhile, claim they were locked inside by management to force them to work overtime.
‘‘Respecting dignity of patients not always a priority,’’ the report states. ‘‘Caregiver burnout noted among staff.’’
‘‘I had obviously a range of emotions, of anger, of sadness, of frustration, of grief,’’ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after reading the report.
The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, whose mother-in-law contracted the virus in one of the province’s care homes, said: ‘‘Ontario will pursue justice beginning with a public inquiry into lethal deficiencies at care homes.’’
Ontario, which includes the cities of Ottawa and Toronto, announced it was to take control of five long-term care homes in light of the military report.
Morrison, born in Scotland in 1924, had Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s and had lived at Orchard Villa for 21⁄2 years. Ms Morrison said he was left in a four-bed room with a Covid-19 patient with a severe cough, even after the home assured her family he had been moved.
Cleaning staff had to make sandwiches and feed them to residents without personal protective equipment, she said, because kitchen staff had come down with the virus. Overall, 94 staff members at the home were reported to have contracted Covid-19.
Ms Morrison said she would not rest until those responsible were held to account. ‘‘I promised my dad on his death bed that I would right the wrongs for him,’’ she said.
Canada reported 108 deaths Thursday and 949 new infections. In total, 6873 people have died from 88,468 infections. –