A video of a woman from Ontario whose grandparents are in a long-term care home has gone viral as she shares a heartbreaking plea for the government to take more action.
In the video, a woman who identifies herself as Natasha says it’s been three months since her lover had a shower. She calls Doug Ford, Prime Minister of Ontario, and dr. Merrilee Fullerton, long-term care minister, to intervene because what she has experienced through her family members is unacceptable.
In a follow-up video, she says her mother asked her to share a letter and read it aloud.
The videos are two out of dozens shared on social media this month, in an effort to draw attention to the conditions in Ontario’s long-term care homes.
The hat brand #STOPTHESENICIDE was recently launched to raise awareness of the dire circumstances and lack of dignity faced by patients in care homes, as COVID-19 continues to spread, especially to the most vulnerable.
Maureen McDermott is the organizer of Voices of LTC, which demands change and raises awareness of the conditions in long-term care in Ontario. While organizing various demonstrations outside nursing homes in Ontario, which were attended by federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, she decided to take action online in light of the new closure measures. And although people used social media to express their frustrations about treating loved ones, it felt like it was falling on deaf ears. The shocking stories about the conditions in long-term care during the pandemic continued.
“We thought instead of showing what we need, let’s just show why we need to change it and what’s happening behind the walls to the families, the emotional sadness,” she says. Yahoo Canada.
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Loved ones who have gone months without being bathed and had to hit residents on the wall to get staff attention are just a few of the anecdotes shared on the social media with the hat brand. McDermott experienced the nightmare first-hand with her elderly mother Elsie, who suffers from various illnesses, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s. Since the pandemic, McDermott has had to be separated from her mother for months and has not received clear information about her well-being.
The group of activists demands that more aid be sent in immediately, including the military. McDermott emphasizes that they do not call for the Red Cross as they are not trained medical professionals, although she acknowledges that it can be helpful to comfort residents by keeping them company. The group also wants to see a similar model in Quebec, with the funding Ontario has received from the federal government.
“Hire thousands of staff, pay them $ 21 an hour to train and then pay them $ 26 an hour if they are employed,” she says. ‘This is what Quebec did this summer in preparation for the second wave. Our government has done very little to prepare for it. ”
McDermott also wants to see meaningful inspections from the Department of Long-Term Care. She claims that current inspections are planned in advance, rather than by surprise. Through the inspections, she wants to revoke licenses at facilities that do not follow the correct protocol.
“The inspections must mean something,” she says. “I lodged complaints with the ministry and was hung on their complaint line.”
In the long run, McDermott wants to see a shift from a profitable system. She also wants to see the Bill on Bill 203, the More than a Visitor Act, presented to parliament by LPP Lisa Gretzky. The bill proposes that the Minister “should respect and promote certain rights for persons receiving care, support or services in municipal care institutions and their designated caregivers.” It is currently in second reading, although the legislature is not expected to reopen until mid-February.
“They need to get back to work,” McDermott says. “This is an absolute humanitarian crisis. Put pen to paper and push the bill through so we can have meaningful access to our loved ones before we plan their funerals. ”
The Ministry of Long-Term Care has not yet responded to a request for comment.