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<\/p>\n(March 31, 2021)<\/p>\n
By: Tina Yazdani<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Though more than 90 per cent of Ontario long-term care residents have been vaccinated and cases inside homes have dropped to near-zero, most living in care are still being forced to stay inside \u2013 and they are demanding to be let out.<\/p>\n
WATCH: https:\/\/toronto.citynews.ca\/2021\/03\/30\/ontario-seniors-stuck-inside-long-term-care-want-to-be-let-out\/<\/p>\n
Advocates and residents say the continued restrictions amount to elder abuse and a violation of their human rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one has COVID-19 in this building, and yet we cannot leave our room. So, what does it take?\u201d said Chuck, a resident at Southlake Long-term Care Village in Newmarket.<\/p>\n
Many Ontario long-term care residents have been stuck inside since the pandemic began, more than a year ago. They say the restrictions no longer make sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not enough just being alive. We need better quality of life,\u201d said Alfred Borg, a long-term care resident in Newmarket.<\/p>\n
Michelle Morriseau\u2019s mother is in a long-term care facility in Thunder Bay. She says her mother is more alert when she\u2019s outdoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy can\u2019t I take my mom for a half an hour walk? Just to get her outside? Where\u2019s her quality of life?\u201d she asks. \u201cHow can you take that away from an elder \u2013 someone who has lived their life, they\u2019ve contributed, and this is what they get?<\/p>\n
At a press conference today, advocates from Voices of Long-Term Care and the Ontario Health Coalition joined doctors and residents to call on the Ford government to require long-term care homes to allow residents outside, and to forbid them from blocking their mobility rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not asking to go to malls and restaurants like all the rest of us are allowed to do now,\u201d says Sandra Caleta, spokesperson for Voices of Long-term Care. \u201cThey simply want to go outside, get fresh air, feel the sunshine on their faces.\u201d<\/p>\n
The groups have been asking the Ontario government to direct long-term care homes to lift restrictive policies since the beginning of March, when both case numbers and deaths dropped dramatically in the homes thanks to vaccines.<\/p>\n
There have been zero resident deaths due to COVID-19 since March 18, and there are currently only nine active resident cases, Ontario government figures show.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have been vaccinated,\u201d says Dr. Amit Arya, a palliative care physician and board member of the Ontario Health Coalition. \u201cWhat was the point if they couldn\u2019t start to enjoy life again?\u201d<\/p>\n
While inside the homes, a new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found residents received less medical care during the first wave of the pandemic when compared to the previous year. The number of residents who received a visit from a physician was down 16 per cent, while there was also a slight increase in the prescription of anti-psychotic drugs to residents.<\/p>\n
The study also found residents who had no contact with friends or family were 36 per cent more likely to be assessed with depression.<\/p>\n
Long-term care resident Chuck says government officials don\u2019t understand the conditions they are confining seniors to.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have challenged someone from the Ministry of Health to live in one of our rooms for a week,\u201d he says, \u201cto subject themselves to their rules \u2013 and then see what they would say.\u201d<\/p>\n
When CityNews asked the Ministry of Long-term Care about the issue, a spokesperson for Minister Merrilee Fullerton emailed the same statement the office sent us nine days ago, when we asked for an update on the rules.<\/p>\n
After initially sending CityNews the same statement as nine days ago, the Ministry of Long-term Care eventually said the Minister has engaged with public health officials to \u201cdiscuss the best path forward for residents while balancing their needs and safety.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Minister of Long-term Care said they are looking at options and will have more to say in the coming days.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen incidents in jurisdictions were residents who have been vaccinated contract COVID-19. Variants of concern poses a real threat to long-term care despite nearly every resident being fully immunized,\u201d read the statement. \u201cWe continue to vaccinate staff, essential care givers, and other vulnerable groups and are seeing the positive effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked today why the rules surrounding long-term care homes have not been relaxed, Premier Doug Ford said, \u201cWe have to be super cautious.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ontario New Democrats\u2019 critic for community and social services says the government\u2019s response to seniors\u2019 pleas has been \u201cshameful and dismissive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government chooses to come forward with excuses,\u201d says MPP Lisa Gretzky.<\/p>\n
Dr. Arya says the lack of action illustrates the power imbalance between the government and care home operators, and the residents who live under their roofs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe operators and governments make decisions that are contrary to the evidence, contrary to logic, and contrary to scientific expertise as well,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n