In late September, a letter was sent to a number of Vancouver Coastal Health officials, B.C.’s health minister and seniors advocate, the local MLA and MP, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and a few others. It was signed by 36 people, mostly from Sechelt but also from Roberts Creek, Gibsons and Halfmoon Bay. Some of the names would be familiar to many of you.
What they all have in common is that they are caregivers whose loved ones are residents of long-term care homes on the Sunshine Coast. The letter says they are “experiencing high levels of stress as a result of COVID-19 restrictions” in these institutions.
They describe how dehumanizing the protocols had made their visits, limited to once per week with touching forbidden. Prior to the pandemic, they “played an integral part in the care of their loved one, helping to feed them, engaging them in activities and generally making them feel that they are loved.” Now they were cut off and made to feel like unwanted outsiders.
It turns out they’re not alone. This week B.C. seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie told the public that the current restrictions aren’t working for most residents in care and their families, and that some consider them inhumane. There is also emerging evidence, she said, that the system is having a negative impact on residents’ health.
Drawing from 13,000 survey responses, Mackenzie said seniors in care are more afraid of dying of loneliness than of COVID.
Her report, released Tuesday, found that only 16 per cent of respondents support the current one-visitor policy and that most want longer and more frequent visits, with an overwhelming majority saying visits should be more private, without barriers, and that touching should be allowed.
“More frequent visits and the ability to hug or touch their loved ones were the top consideration for spouses,” she wrote.
Mackenzie’s report suggests that the system failed to recognize the essential care some family members were providing.
She is calling for visitation rules to be relaxed and for residents and their family members to have a greater say in decisions. Provincial health officials have already indicated they are prepared to take steps in that direction.
It can’t happen soon enough for those 36 people on the Sunshine Coast and their loved ones – and for thousands of families like them.
