Quebec ombudsman to investigate COVID-19 crisis in CHSLDs

Quebec's ombudsman is launching an independent investigation into the COVID-19 crisis unfolding in the province's nursing homes.

Residents in the province's network of CHSLDs and private seniors' residences account for more than 80 per cent of deaths related to the virus. 

The investigation will look into the Ministry of Health and Social Services and long-term care homes within the public health network, ombudsman Marie Rinfret announced Tuesday.

Rinfret expressed concern about the failure to properly ensure the safety and well-being of seniors being housed in CHSLDs and other residences, which were hit hard by COVID-19.

"The current crisis is unfolding in already fragile collective living environments, where there are known problems which have been denounced by the Quebec ombudsman," Rinfret said in a statement.

The high number of deaths and outbreaks of contagion are concerning, and bring up questions of residences' capacity to cope with the pandemic in a context where even basic care is not guaranteed, Rinfret said.

"Among the problems are a glaring lack of personnel, difficult working conditions as a result of that shortage, a high turnover rate for orderlies and insufficient monitoring of private establishments by the public network," Rinfret said.

Recommendations from the ombudsman are non-binding.

Rinfret has warned about the province's long-term care homes in the past.

In a scathing 2018 report, Rinfret said the services provided to seniors and people living with disabilities were "deficient" and "flawed."

"At many institutions, staff can barely keep up," she said at the time. "The upshot is that services such as baths and dental care are put off. Needless to say, this causes significant harm to people who are highly vulnerable."