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home / 世界杯决赛2022

hanes: elderly in nursing homes still an afterthought

the government's reassurance that it did all it could to ensure chslds allow quebec seniors to live out their last years in dignity is less convincing by the day.

by allison hanes

dec 9 2021
read time 3 minute read
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even if it’s already well established that the government failed vulnerable seniors in nursing homes at the start of the pandemic, we are still learning the full extent of just how egregiously they were abandoned then — and how much of an afterthought they still are today.
some 4,000 elderly quebecers died of covid-19 in long-term care while countless others suffered, unfed and stewing in their own filth, due to staff shortages, missing equipment and a lack of emergency preparedness.
quebec’s ombudsman marie rinfret chastised the government over this “blind spot” after a thorough investigation. coroner géhane kamel is still grilling top decision makers, poking holes in their testimony, exposing alarming inconsistencies and testing their credibility. the media also continues to shed new light on the disaster.
and the latest revelations may be the most damning of all.

radio-canada this week obtained a series of emails sent by annick lavoie, president of the association des établissements privés conventionnés, a body representing private long-term care facilities, to senior health ministry bureaucrats, members of the crisis cell advising the premier and health minister, as well as the management at local ciussses and cissses.

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between mid-march and early april 2020, she warned about a lack of personal protective equipment for staff. she cautioned about the risks of employees working in different care homes. she shared her worry that terrible things would happen if rapid action was not taken. with each plea, her tone became more desperate.
“i beg you, listen to the experts on the ground,” lavoie wrote.
yet her messages were met with empty promises that equipment was on the way, while premier françois legault went on television day after day saying there was adequate supply. eventually, he admitted there might have been some delays in distribution.
but by the time april rolled around and officials in charge got their act together, nursing home residents were already dying in droves while staff were falling ill, being quarantined or quitting in fear. care had deteriorated for those left behind in locked facilities isolated from their families.

the government’s once plausible explanation that it did the best it could in an unprecedented crisis with the information it had at the time is being chipped away at, week after week, as emerging evidence counters the assertion that decision makers were flying blind. lavoie’s emails provide a paper trail, showing in black and white that a red alert was sent from the front lines and went ignored until it was too late.

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the opposition keeps hammering away at the government over its failures to protect the elderly as the first wave of covid-19 slammed quebec, with all three parties unanimously calling for a public inquiry . despite multiple investigations focusing on various aspects of the crisis response, it now seems like the only way to fully understand the whole picture and avoid repeating the fatal errors.

legault’s insistence that his government has already acted to fix the gaping cracks in chslds and made changes to ensure quebec seniors live out their last years in dignity, also become less convincing by the day.

earlier this week le journal de montréal reported on the disgusting gruel being served up at several nursing homes in the city’s north end accompanied by stomach-churning photos of mush. it’s not just because purées tend to look less palatable or that specialized diets put limitations on what can be offered. the kitchens of these homes shut down and the residents are being fed pre-made meals cooked off site that sit for a day before being reheated.

families have complained their loved ones are being fed soup with only a few pitiful vegetables floating in broth, macaroni so dry it became a choking hazard and salads made of brown, wilted lettuce. even pets would reject this slop and yet this is what we expect our parents and grandparents to eat.

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called to account in the national assembly, health minister christian dubé called the food “unacceptable” and dispatched an inspector.
but it just goes to show that despite all of the promises, quebec has once again fallen down on providing the most basic of services to residents of long-term care.
how are we supposed to believe everything — or anything — has changed since the dark days when our elders were left to die alone in inhumane conditions as virtual prisoners of ill-prepared facilities forgotten in the midst of a global pandemic?
we’re not — and we can’t — because nursing homes are as neglected now as they were in march of 2020.
allison hanes, montreal gazette
allison hanes, montreal gazette

i started at the montreal gazette in 2000 as an intern. since then i have covered the national assembly and courts, worked on the assignment desk and written editorials, before debuting as city columnist in 2017. when i’m not comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable, i like to ski, read, walk my fur baby and cheerlead at my kids’ various sporting activities (as long as i promise not to embarrass them).

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