BC’s advocate for older people Isobel Mackenzie is asking the province to declare that all residents in long-term care have the right to designate at least one person as their essential visitor.
In a November report, the Ombudsman for the Elderly official identified that 52 percent of requests made by residents to designate an essential visitor were denied.
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BC aims to bring one social visitor per resident back to long-term care homes
As of January 1, only essential visitors are allowed in long-term care homes, due to an increase in nursing home outbreaks and a shortage of staff to screen all who come to visit.
“While we can all understand the need to limit the number of visitors to long-term care during this latest wave of COVID-19, returning essential visitors without declaring that each resident is entitled to at least one essential visitor has effectively left. the mayority. of long-term care residents without visits from loved ones, ”Mackenzie said.
Current public health orders allow essential visitors to continue visiting if an outbreak is declared at a facility, while social visitor access is suspended for the duration of the outbreak.
Before the visit, all visitors to the long-term care facility must be fully vaccinated and given rapid antigen tests.
Although the province received the senior advocate’s report in November, to date no changes have been made to the process for determining whether a resident meets the criteria to be designated an essential visitor.
The actual determination is made by the facility manager on a case-by-case basis.
Essential visits may include visits for compassionate care, including critical illness, palliative care, hospice care, end of life, medical assistance in dying, and primary visits for the physical care and mental well-being of the patient or client.
They may also include communication assistance for people with hearing, visual, speech, cognitive, intellectual or memory impairments, assistance from designated representatives for people with disabilities, and visits for supported decision-making.
“My office is receiving phone calls and emails from family members, including spouses, who were informed that they could no longer visit their loved one, despite offering vital support and care,” Mackenzie said.
“They help feed your loved one, clothe him, take him for a walk, and keep him busy. For many residents, these visitors are the only people who can motivate them to participate in any activity, and yet they are not formally recognized as essential ”.
On Tuesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC provincial health official, was asked if the province would require that every resident have the right to one essential visitor.
Henry said the province dealt with the problem last summer and determined that there were different types of visitors recognized as essential. These include visitors who provide additional care and those who provide emotional support.
“We have a designated social visitor that everyone, every resident, is expected to have at least one. We have provisions for more than one, ”Henry said.
“As we move back into this risk phase, we know that residents are well protected, but because they are older and we know that immunity wanes over time, there is still a risk. We want to minimize the number of people entering and leaving long-term care homes during this period of high transmission. “
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