MONTRÉAL, Québec (CU)_A new report on senior care in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic shows how the country really bungled the situation in Long Term Care (LTC) homes.
The study, published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, reviewed the situation in Canada’s nursing homes during the first six months of the pandemic, in comparison to those in other wealthy nations.
Among the key findings made the report was how nursing homes were disproportionately affected by the pandemic in Canada, with more infections and deaths reported in LTC and retirement homes. The statistics show that almost 70 per cent of all virus-induced deaths in the country were in LTC homes, compared to the international average of 41 per cent.
The report also claims that residents of these care homes received less medical care, particularly during the first Coronavirus wave, with reduced doctor visits and fewer transfers to hospitals for treatments. It shows that deaths from all causes reported from nursing homes were higher in comparison to pre-pandemic figures, even in locations with fewer COVID infections.
The report claims that these findings point to several structural changes, such as “increased staffing levels, stronger infection control and prevention practices, better inspection and enforcement processes, and improved building infrastructure to reduce crowding and infection spread”, which were measures that had already been called for by healthcare workers long before the pandemic.
According to the study, between 1 March 2021 and 15 February 2021, COVID outbreaks in care homes resulted in 14,000 resident deaths and 30 staff deaths, which accounted for more than two-thirds of total COVID deaths in the country. In terms in infections, around 80,000 cases were registered from care homes which is 10 per cent of the total number of infections in Canada.
The report says that in spring 2020, more than 1,500 members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) were deployed to assist with staffing of homes in the Quebec and Ontario, which were the two provinces that reported the largest proportion of homes with outbreaks.
“The CAF reported poor infection prevention and control practices (e.g., insufficient medical supplies and training, personal protective equipment [PPE] not available), residents being ‘denied food or not fed properly’ and extensive staffing problems,” the report read.
Experts say that the only possible reason for this state of affairs is the cost of hiring required staff to keep the virus out of the LTC homes.
Meanwhile, the office of the Minister of Long-Term Care, Merrilee Fullerton, said in a statement that a $115 million investment will be made in order to support the entry of more than 8,000 personal support workers by the end of this year.
