No easy fix for long-term care home problems, experts say

OTTAWA For years, people living and working in nursing and retirement homes across the country have struggled, as overburdened caregivers tried to maintain a basic level of care and dignity for aging and ailing Canadians.

It happened behind closed doors, said Carole Estabrooks, a professor in the faculty of nursing at the University of Alberta, with people mostly only knowing the state of things if they or loved ones moved into a long-term care facility.

Then the pandemic struck, and the deficiencies turned deadly.

“And the public’s horrified and they’re listening now,” said Estabrooks, who has collected data on long-term care for 15 years.

“But, my God, what it took.” A man in his 80s died of COVID-19 in March after becoming infected at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, B.C. It was Canada’s first death related to the pandemic, and the beginning of a rash of outbreaks in care homes across Canada.

Deaths in long-term care facilities now account for more than 80 per cent of the roughly 4,500 deaths from COVID -19 in Canada.

“I call it benign neglect,” said Estabrooks, the scientific director for the university’s Translating Research in Elder Care, a program aimed at improving the system.

And while policy-makers and politicians have vowed to find a fix, the path to change remains unclear.

A fundamental redesign is needed, she said, but it is an incredibly complex task. Long-term care is a provincial jurisdiction, and it differs from province to province.

One thing they typically have in common, she said, is being staffed by low-wage, part-time workers — and understaffed, at that. Personal support workers do the bulk of the caregiving in these homes, but they’re largely unregulated.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

recently announced a $4-billion boost in pay for front-line workers, including long-term care workers.

But Canada can’t go back to paying these workers minimum wage after the pandemic is over, said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The organization has published 21 recommendations to improve long-term care once the crisis has passed, including higher wages and legislating staff ratios. It also recommends eliminating private homes and increasing in federal oversight making long-term care a part of the Canada Health Act. The Canadian Press