Senior’s Advocate Concerned by Report on COVID-19 in Long Term Care Facilities

The province’s Seniors’ Advocate calls a recent report by the Canadian Institute for Health Research “very concerning.”

The report outlines the disproportionate number of COVID outbreaks and deaths in long term care facilities and retirement homes.

Senior Researcher of Health Systems Analysis and Emerging Issues at CIHI, Christina Lawand says while Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province that did not experience a COVID-related death within the long-term care system, their report took a “deeper dive” into the unintended consequences of public health measures imposed to prevent the spread of the virus.

They found that overall, residents received less medical care when they needed it, there were fewer visits from family and friends, and there were more deaths, even in provinces that were not as greatly impacted by the virus itself.

Seniors’ Advocate Suzanne Brake says while a lot of the findings are not surprising, they are concerning. Brake says the sheer numbers of people who died in long-term care in Canada during the pandemic, was the most shocking and profound finding.

14,000 seniors and others died in long-term care facilities in Canada, says Brake. “Internationally, we’re way up there” when it comes to the stats she says.