This was a letter to the editor of the Globe & Mail in regards to their stories on long-term care published on 21 Nov 2020 and linked below;

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-since-the-spring-51-residents-have-died-of-covid-19-at-this-kitchener/?symbol=print-msg

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-in-covid-19s-second-wave-canadas-long-term-care-homes-aim-for-a/?symbol=print-msg

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Your cover-stories on long-term care on Sat 21 Nov are so one-sided that they are propaganda!  The story “No One Should Die Alone”,  failed to mention that the government of Ontario relieved the Forest Heights nursing home (FHNH) management of their duty two months after the outbreak of covid as there were 51 deaths; 21% of this 236-bed facility.  This begs the question, how many of these 51 deaths were a symptom of the greater problem of the FHNH management not being able to or not wanting to look after their patients?

I examined the reports of the inspections conducted by the government of Ontario at FHNH. Some of the serious problems that have been re-occurring there since 2014 include issues around falls prevention, skin and wound care practices, failure to protect residents from harm, failure to update care plans, failure to do proper assessments on admission. ( https://publicreporting.ltchomes.net/en-ca/homeprofile.aspx?Home=2707&tab=1 ) Most of the non-compliances are Written Notifications and Voluntary Plans of Correction that never get followed up on.

In the companions nursing home story ( “In COVID-19′s second wave, Canada’s long-term care homes aim for a better balance of safety and community”), there seems to be a horrific underlying theme to this article that nursing home residents’ visits from loved ones are going to be replaced by iPads and staff who do not have time to feed them much less provide companionship.

Yours Truly;

John Vice

Media Relations

Seniors Guardian Angels Program