mzkitty
I give up.
Could it happen here? Of course.
Canada’s military exposes ‘extremely troubling’ conditions in Ontario long-term-care homes
Tue., May 26, 2020
Cockroach infestatations, 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 Canadian Armed Forces personnel dispatched to help in five Ontario nursing homes during the pandemic.
In a searing 23-page military report made public Tuesday, Ontario’s troubled long-term 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 the revelations, expressed outrage at the situation.
“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.
“We must, as a country, improve the situation in those care homes.This is a situation that has gone on for a long time. We need to take action as a country.”
Some 1,650 troops were deployed in response to calls for help from two provinces to care for residents in the homes — about 1,400 personnel in Quebec and about 250 in Ontario facilities. The personnel in Ontario are working in five homes in the Toronto area.
At the Eatonville Care Centre on the East Mall in Etobicoke, where 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 30 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, 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 the home’s residents had pressure ulcers due to prolonged bed rest, in some cases for several weeks. “No evidence of residents being moved to wheelchair for parts of day, repositioned in bed, or washed properly.”
A common theme among the homes was a lack of staffing, which meant little time to properly care for and attend to the 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 death 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.
There was inadequate oxygen and “inaccessible wound care supplies,” as well as poor staff training.
Provincial officials said some of the five homes had a history of compliance problems with government standards for nursing and that there had been intensive conversations between them and the ministry.
The situations in the individual nursing homes were appalling, although in a background briefing officials said the situations have significantly improved. The officials could not say if any of the five homes were the ones given telephone inspections by the ministry to avoid exposing inspectors to COVID-19.
At the Hawthorne nursing home in North York, “numerous fans” were blowing in the hallways, increasing the spread of COVID-19. There were ants and cockroaches, residents were having "skin breakdown" from lying in soiled diapers, and N-95 masks were given to staff without proper fit testing, increasing their risk of infection.
Residents were getting painful pressure ulcers bedsores because they were not turned often enough in their beds, and the report details “forceful feeding (of residents) observed by staff causing audible choking/aspiration” — with the same notation for forceful drinking.
“Patients observed crying for help with staff not responding for 30 minutes to over two hours,” the military report on Hawthorne added.
“Staff report residents not having been bathed for several weeks.”
Do not resuscitate (DNR) status was also not posted for residents, so some were given cardio-pulmonary resuscitation that would have generated aerosol spray that could infect staff as well as nearby residents.
At Brampton’s Holland Christian Homes, the military highlighted poor hygiene practices, noting that staff moved from a COVID-19 positive unit to other units without changing protective gear, wearing the same pair of gloves as they moved between patients and not washing their hands often enough.
They also flagged leaving food in a patient’s mouth while they were sleeping, “aggressively repositioning a resident,” and not helping residents during meals, noting that in some cases, staff would rather write they refused the meal than help them.
The military’s report was sent to the Ontario government over the weekend. Trudeau said he discussed the situation with Ford earlier Tuesday and the premier is to address next steps at Queen’s Park.
“I spoke with the premier this morning to assure him that of course the federal government would be there to support them as they deal with this situation,” the prime minister said.
Trudeau said the findings underscore the need —exposed by the pandemic — to improve care provided for seniors.
“The federal government will be there to support the provinces in that work,” he said.
Trudeau said Ontario and Quebec have asked the military to extend their deployments. While both requests are under review, he added, “of course we will be there to help them.”
“The challenges faced by this system of long-term care is larger than just the places that the Canadian Armed Forces are showing up in,” said Trudeau.
While there are many “extraordinary, excellent” long-term facilities, there are others “that obviously not doing as well,” he said.
“We are facing a situation that clearly has existed since long before the pandemic in a number of long-term care homes where we see the support given our seniors is not up to scratch.”
As of Sunday, 36 members of the military working in the long-term care homes have tested positive for the virus – 14 in Ontario and 22 in Quebec. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said that the military knew it was going into a “high-risk” environment when it deployed to long-term-care homes.
There are 1,855 nursing home 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-term care 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.
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca tweeted that “now, more than ever before, we need a full public inquiry into long term care deaths.”
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/politics/federal/2020/05/26/canadas-military-reports-extremely-troubling-conditions-in-ontario-long-term-care-homes/military.jpg)
www.thestar.com
Canada’s military exposes ‘extremely troubling’ conditions in Ontario long-term-care homes
Tue., May 26, 2020
Cockroach infestatations, 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 Canadian Armed Forces personnel dispatched to help in five Ontario nursing homes during the pandemic.
In a searing 23-page military report made public Tuesday, Ontario’s troubled long-term 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 the revelations, expressed outrage at the situation.
“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.
“We must, as a country, improve the situation in those care homes.This is a situation that has gone on for a long time. We need to take action as a country.”
Some 1,650 troops were deployed in response to calls for help from two provinces to care for residents in the homes — about 1,400 personnel in Quebec and about 250 in Ontario facilities. The personnel in Ontario are working in five homes in the Toronto area.
At the Eatonville Care Centre on the East Mall in Etobicoke, where 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 30 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, 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 the home’s residents had pressure ulcers due to prolonged bed rest, in some cases for several weeks. “No evidence of residents being moved to wheelchair for parts of day, repositioned in bed, or washed properly.”
A common theme among the homes was a lack of staffing, which meant little time to properly care for and attend to the 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 death 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.
There was inadequate oxygen and “inaccessible wound care supplies,” as well as poor staff training.
Provincial officials said some of the five homes had a history of compliance problems with government standards for nursing and that there had been intensive conversations between them and the ministry.
The situations in the individual nursing homes were appalling, although in a background briefing officials said the situations have significantly improved. The officials could not say if any of the five homes were the ones given telephone inspections by the ministry to avoid exposing inspectors to COVID-19.
At the Hawthorne nursing home in North York, “numerous fans” were blowing in the hallways, increasing the spread of COVID-19. There were ants and cockroaches, residents were having "skin breakdown" from lying in soiled diapers, and N-95 masks were given to staff without proper fit testing, increasing their risk of infection.
Residents were getting painful pressure ulcers bedsores because they were not turned often enough in their beds, and the report details “forceful feeding (of residents) observed by staff causing audible choking/aspiration” — with the same notation for forceful drinking.
“Patients observed crying for help with staff not responding for 30 minutes to over two hours,” the military report on Hawthorne added.
“Staff report residents not having been bathed for several weeks.”
Do not resuscitate (DNR) status was also not posted for residents, so some were given cardio-pulmonary resuscitation that would have generated aerosol spray that could infect staff as well as nearby residents.
At Brampton’s Holland Christian Homes, the military highlighted poor hygiene practices, noting that staff moved from a COVID-19 positive unit to other units without changing protective gear, wearing the same pair of gloves as they moved between patients and not washing their hands often enough.
They also flagged leaving food in a patient’s mouth while they were sleeping, “aggressively repositioning a resident,” and not helping residents during meals, noting that in some cases, staff would rather write they refused the meal than help them.
The military’s report was sent to the Ontario government over the weekend. Trudeau said he discussed the situation with Ford earlier Tuesday and the premier is to address next steps at Queen’s Park.
“I spoke with the premier this morning to assure him that of course the federal government would be there to support them as they deal with this situation,” the prime minister said.
Trudeau said the findings underscore the need —exposed by the pandemic — to improve care provided for seniors.
“The federal government will be there to support the provinces in that work,” he said.
Trudeau said Ontario and Quebec have asked the military to extend their deployments. While both requests are under review, he added, “of course we will be there to help them.”
“The challenges faced by this system of long-term care is larger than just the places that the Canadian Armed Forces are showing up in,” said Trudeau.
While there are many “extraordinary, excellent” long-term facilities, there are others “that obviously not doing as well,” he said.
“We are facing a situation that clearly has existed since long before the pandemic in a number of long-term care homes where we see the support given our seniors is not up to scratch.”
As of Sunday, 36 members of the military working in the long-term care homes have tested positive for the virus – 14 in Ontario and 22 in Quebec. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said that the military knew it was going into a “high-risk” environment when it deployed to long-term-care homes.
There are 1,855 nursing home 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-term care 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.
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca tweeted that “now, more than ever before, we need a full public inquiry into long term care deaths.”
Canada’s military exposes ‘extremely troubling’ conditions in Ontario long-term-care homes
Military personnel serving in long-term care homes in Ontario have made “extremely troubling” discoveries about the treatment of elderly residents, Pr...
