Whitby council wants Ontario commission to probe second wave failures at long-term care homes

A GTA municipality is pushing to make sure that the failures in long-term care homes during the second wave of the pandemic are included in a provincial probe into what went wrong at Ontario’s long-term care homes.

In a unanimous vote Monday night, council supported a motion by Deputy Mayor Steve Yamada asking that the provincial Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission probe the circumstances that lead to the recent deaths of at least 27 residents at Sunnycrest Nursing Home, where all but one of the residents contracted COVID-19.

According to the motion, 117 out of 118 residents at the home have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 61 staff members who live in Durham Region since the outbreak was reported on Nov. 23.  

A recent inspection of the home in late November found that there was no symptom screening for visitors, personal protective equipment was lacking and that “there was actual harm to residents” as a result of the inadequate measures.

In an email to CP24.com, Yamada called the report’s findings “unbelievable.”

“It is hard to believe that after everything we have learned in the first wave, that a long-term care home operator wouldn’t have the sense to have a screener at the front door in full PPE or that PPE was not being used properly,” he said.

“Our seniors fought in wars, went through a depression, contributed to our country and raised and cared for us. In their golden years, they deserve better.”

The letter is expected to go out Wednesday or Thursday and is also being addressed to Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott.

Yamada said he would also seek leave to move a similar motion at Durham Regional Council on Wednesday.

However in an email to CP24, commission lawyer John Callaghan said the commission is not able to conduct investigations into individual homes.

“We are happy to hear from family members or staff about their experiences but we are not set up to probe each home,” Callaghan said.

Speaking with CP24.com Wednesday evening, Yamada said he is “shocked and disappointed” that the commission doesn’t plan to look into what went wrong at Sunnycrest.

“I've spoken with some folks who've had loved ones in that home. We need to do better for the seniors,” he said. “And I think the provincial government could amend the terms of reference and possibly extend the amount of time that's been given to this independent commission.

“It's not about doing it fast. It's about doing it right and ensuring that this never happens again to seniors in the province of Ontario or across Canada.”

Not clear whether commission will examine second wave

The Ford government has tasked the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission with investigating what went wrong in the province’s long-term care homes as they were devastated by COVID-19. 

It’s not clear whether the report will include an analysis of problems encountered by long-term care homes during the second wave of the pandemic. An interim set of recommendations released by the commission on Oct. 23 indicates that the commission will table a report on the problems that existed in long-term care homes prior to COVID-19 and during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring.

However a spokesperson for the commission said that the commissioners are empowered to examine problems “through their term,” which is set to expire no later than May 31, 2021.

Yamada said that given the lessons meant to have been learned from the first wave, the second-wave failures at homes such as Sunnycrest should be examined as well.

“I understand that to look into every home would be difficult,” he said. “That said, Sunnycrest Nursing Home is unique in the amount of staff and residents that contracted COVID-19. Especially again, in the second wave.

“The fact that there was no screener in front, there was no screener at the door wearing PPE, the fact that there was a lack of proper hand hygiene, a lack of proper use of PPE after all we've learned in the first wave of pandemic, I think we need to look into this.”

Lakeridge Health assumed temporary management of Sunnycrest through a voluntary management contract on Dec. 3.

At least 23 other homes in the province are currently under outside management as they grapple with COVID-19 outbreaks.

While it appeared during the summer that the carnage in long-term care homes had mostly subsided, homes have seen a resurgence of outbreaks in the second wave.

According to the province, there are currently 135 long-term care homes with an active COVID-19 outbreak.

Including the 22 new resident deaths reported by the province Wednesday, some 2,513 long-term care home residents have died of COVID-19 in Ontario since the start of the pandemic.

The renewed trouble at the province’s long-term care homes comes as Ontario logs record-breaking daily case numbers and rampant community spread.

Health officials have pleaded with the public to follow public health advice and to refrain from gathering with people outside their households, especially over the holidays, to try to contain the spread.