… “In light of how quickly COVID-19 spread in long-term-care homes, every day that implementing mandatory requirements was delayed made a difference in the effort to control its spread,” Lysyk said in her report.
Lysyk said in her report that the province was aware in March, 2020 that 98 per cent of the COVID-19 deaths in Italy had involved elderly people with pre-existing conditions and should have recognized the risk the virus posed to long-term care homes.
It was neglect and incompetence that killed them.
More… Ontario long-term care homes were poorly prepared for COVID-19 pandemic, auditor-general report says
The report also noted that 13 of the 15 homes with the highest numbers of COVID-19 deaths were operated by for-profit entities. The 15 homes had only 4.4 per cent of all long-term-care home beds but accounted for 28 per cent of all resident deaths.
Lysyk’s report makes 16 recommendations to address the findings.
Those include requiring operators to renovate and upgrade homes more quickly, and coming up with a provincial strategy to address “root causes” of staffing shortages. It also urges development of a pandemic plan for the sector.
And then there’s this.
Last week I received this letter from Runnymede the hospital where my Mother contracted Covid. It’s a request that she fill out a patient experience survey. When her condition worsened she was transferred to a Covid ward at a nearby hospital where she died. They know or should know she passed away. I arranged to pick up her belongings at Runnymede and informed staff of her passing. They were so kind that along with her personal items they included a bag of her soiled bed linens which I tossed back into the lobby along with a few choice remarks.
