Manitobans who've struggled to see loved ones in health-care system hope new rules make visiting easier
Nathan Liewicki | CBC News | Posted: February 23, 2022 11:00 AM | Last Updated: February 23, 2022
Alfred Jobse spent many of his dying hours alone in ER because of COVID visitor restrictions
A Winnipeg family that wasn't permitted to visit a loved one in dire condition in a hospital in September hopes upcoming changes at personal care homes and hospitals in the province will allow enhanced visitation.
Manitoba hospitals and personal care homes will allow more in-person visits starting this week. The visitation changes reflect the public health orders, while taking into consideration COVID-19 hospitalization rates and the number of outbreaks in facilities, according to Shared Health.
However, changes to in-person visits may vary by health region and individual facility.
Alfred Jobse died on Sept. 3, less than 24 hours after collapsing at his home.
His wife of 44 years, Theresa Jobse, and daughters Cindy McKague and Alicia Thwaites were by his side when he died, but according to a letter sent to Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon, Alfred spent 12 of his last 18 hours alone in an emergency room bed at Health Sciences Centre.
WATCH | Dying alone in ER because of COVID visitor restrictions:
Thwaites said it was challenging to get any sort of update on how her dad, who had been diagnosed with stage three esophageal cancer the previous April, was doing. Her mom was not allowed to be with her husband in the ambulance or the emergency room.
"If you are a stage three, possibly stage four cancer patient on some pretty significant pain medication, you would think that having somebody there to assist with potential decisions would be an allowable thing," Thwaites said Tuesday.
It wasn't until the family was asked what Alfred's end-of-life wish was that he was able to see his wife and daughters one final time.
"I am still having nightmares about it," Jobse said.
Under the new rules, two fully vaccinated essential care persons will be allowed to see a loved one in acute care, but they must visit one at a time.
Jobse believes there was room to let "my tiny person" sit quietly beside her husband and answer any questions doctors may have had about her husband.
Shared Health also announced general visits will be expanded for fully vaccinated visitors in hospitals, with one visitor allowed at a time. The number of visitors will be determined by the facility, and they must adhere to physical distancing.
Visits must happen during visiting hours at hospitals, and people are encouraged to call ahead of time.
The past five-plus months have felt like an "insurmountable mountain," Thwaites said, due to the state of the province's health-care system. But she hopes the visiting changes will benefit other families at such a difficult time.
"This is a defining moment for our individual family," she said. "There will forever be before this and after this, and if these changes mean that even one other family doesn't have to deal with what we are, then I'm grateful for that."
Visitation plans peculiar: advocate
The move to expand visiting at hospitals and personal care homes in Manitoba is a positive one that also comes with questions, says Laura Tamblyn Watts, founder and chief executive officer of CanAge, the national seniors' advocacy organization.
She called the changes a long time coming after nearly two years of pandemic-related restrictions.
"It's going to mean that families will be reunited. It's going to mean that as long as the person is vaccinated or if not vaccinated they will the visit outside in a designated shelter area," Tamblyn Watts said.
For end-of-life care in personal care homes, a reasonable number of visitors will be able visit. Vaccination status will not matter.
However, visitors will still have to make appointments for all general visits to personal care homes, which Tamblyn Watts called a "peculiar" approach.
"One of the challenges we are going to see is people trying to schedule visits, and I'm not sure that we have a readiness in place to do this very appointment-based set of visits," she said.
Kristin Westdal's mother is at a Winnipeg personal care home.
Westdal lives in British Columbia but arrived in Winnipeg last Saturday. She received a special exemption to visit her mother, who has dementia, despite a COVID-19 outbreak in her mother's ward.
Even Westdal's father, his wife's primary caregiver, isn't currently allowed to see her.
"I think that every person needs someone there for them. It's part of being human," she said. "We need human touch. We need human companionship. And I think isolating anyone for any length of time is honestly inhumane."
"I think being alone, even with the amazing staff to look after her, it's not enough and she needs her people with her," Westdal added.
All facilities will still require medical masks, and all visitors must pass screening tests upon entry.
Facilities will continue to use the QR code verification system and require photo identification for fully vaccinated visitors.