‘I don’t want to go through this ever in my life again’
Long-term-care residents tell of devastation they suffered due to lockdowns
One by one, residents of Ontario’s long-term-care homes described the emotional devastation caused by the COVID-19 lockdown to an independent inquiry — and implored the governments to address isolation before the second wave of COVID-19 crashes down.
Lonely, depressed, muzzled and trapped are some of the words the residents used to describe the pandemic to the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission by video conference.
“Now, when I see these dog cages on TV for stray animals, I see myself as one of these neglected, filthy, and starving-forlove-and-affection little critters,” said Virginia Parraga, who lives in a long-term-care home in Toronto.
“I now weep for our human race and mankind.”
The novel coronavirus ripped through the province’s longterm-care homes overwhelming the system and killing more than 1,900 residents, as of Thursday.
Severe staff shortages, crumbling infrastructure and lack of oversight were some of the factors that contributed to the mass COVID-19 outbreaks in those facilities.
The commission, led by former Superior Court judge Frank Marrocco, will investigate how COVID-19 spread in the long-term-care system and come up with recommendations.
Barry Hickling, one of the residents who testified last week, spoke of the long-lasting effect of the lockdown.
“I hope that this will be a tremendous learning experience for all of us, but the pain will not go away. It will stay,” he said. “It will torment us because of the potential for another wave or potential of someone bringing something into a long-termcare home.”
Hickling, who has lived in a long-term-care home in Windsor, Ont., for the past 10 years, said the government should take immediate action to fix the problems.
“We are isolated, alone, without family or friends to visit with us,” he said. “I don’t want to go through this ever in my life again. And I pray and hope that, by gosh, if there is another wave, let’s deal with it adequately, appropriately, efficiently and directly.”
The province eased visitation restrictions several months into the pandemic, but many homes continued with the lockdown, the inquiry heard.
The province recently announced new restrictions on homes in COVID-19 hot spots, limiting visitors to staff, essential visitors and caregivers.
Carolyn Snow, who lives at a long-term-care facility in Keswick, Ont., said the isolation felt like living behind bars.
“Except that prisoners are treated better,” said Snow.
She said her sister-in-law, who was staying at another longterm-care home, contracted the novel coronavirus and died.
“It went from not being too concerned to being devastated,” Snow said.
The residents also described a litany of problems inside the homes.
Residents could not socialize with their friends, ate soggy meals alone in their rooms and watched endless television, said Sharron Cooke, the president of the Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils who lives at a facility in Newmarket, Ont.
She said the lack of activity and stimulation “left residents dormant and sleeping all the time.”
Several residents said they were left in the dark with minimal information or communication from the homes.
“Just to be left in a room and not know what is past the walls has caused a lot of emotional concern,” Cooke said.
The communication vacuum left vulnerable residents confused and disoriented.
“The residents didn’t know what day it was, what time it was,” Cooke said. “They were looking for nighties at noon because they couldn’t figure out what time of day it was.”
Hickling said staff shortages led to two mixups with his medication, which if he hadn’t noticed, would have left him in a great deal of pain.