The strict visitor restrictions currently in place at long-term care homes are preventing families from providing "vital support" to their loved ones, according to B.C.'s seniors advocate.
On Thursday, Isobel Mackenzie called on the province to declare that every long-term care resident is entitled to at least one designated visitor, to help them with everything from feeding to getting dressed.
The decision to ban all non-essential visitors last week has "effectively left the majority of long-term care residents without visits from loved ones," Mackenzie said in a statement.
“My office is receiving phone calls and emails from family members, including spouses, who were advised they could no longer visit," she said.
"For many residents, these visitors are the only people who can motivate them to engage in any activities, and yet they are not formally recognized as essential."
The advocate argued these kinds of visitors also ease the burden on staff, particularly when multiple employees are forced to stay home due to COVID-19 infection or exposure. Health officials recently warned that every workplace should be prepared to have one-third of staff off sick at a time due to the highly infectious Omicron variant.
"We know that the care provided to residents by essential visitors can help manage an overburdened care home. I urge the province to empower residents in long-term care to choose a designated essential visitor, as it is only the resident and their families who truly know who is essential to their health and well-being," Mackenzie said.
Currently, facility administrators determine who qualifies as an essential visitor. Examples include those who are seeing a dying relative, and those who provide communication assistance to care home residents who have visual, hearing or cognitive impairments.
Even when long-term care homes are grappling with COVID-19 outbreaks – something that is happening more often amid unprecedented levels of transmission in the community – essential visitors are allowed to continue entering the facility, the advocate noted.
Earlier this week, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said it has always been the governmetn's plan to eventually allow "one designated social visitor" per resident in care homes, in addition to essential visitors. The timeline for doing so will depend on when facilities can begin using rapid antigen testing, which Henry indicated will be beginning this week.
"We know that our seniors and elders have long in long-term care have been hardest hit by this pandemic – and we also know how essential having those social supports of visitors is," she said.
-- with files from CTV News --