A survey conducted by B.C.’s Seniors Advocate says the biggest fear of people in long-term and assisted-living facilities is not contracting COVID-19.

Rather, Isobel Mackenzie says residents are more worried about not getting to spend quality, meaningful time with their loved ones as they near the end of their lives. Her report ‘Staying Apart to Stay Safe’ looked at the impact of visitor restrictions that were meant to prevent seniors from being exposed to the virus.

“There is emerging evidence these restrictions are having a negative impact on residents’ health,” Mackenzie wrote in her report.

“Thousands of residents in this province who went from seeing their loved ones almost daily to seeing no one for four months and now for the last four months many of these visits are 30 minutes, once a week, often outside, sometimes between plexiglass and usually with someone watching.”

In-person visits at care homes were restricted in March at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, since the end of June the province began to allow a designated visitor into care homes.

Mackenzie says she supported the move to lock down long-term care facilities but never expected the restrictions to be in place for nine months.

Of the 13,000 responses that were counted (15,000 people took the survey but some incomplete or potentially fraudulent responses were left out) 84 per cent of people think that at least two people should be allowed during a visit. And 74 per cent also felt that visits should be at least one hour.

“At the end of June, visit restrictions were relaxed and we moved from essential visits only to every resident entitled to a designated,” Mackenzie said. “However, we learned through the survey that two months later, visits are still heavily restricted.”

“All residents need the ability to designate an essential care partner. It is the resident or their family member who should decide this not the care home. And this designated essential care partner needs to be able to visit their loved one more frequently and in the privacy of a private room if they live in a single room.”

Last week, health officials in B.C. said changes to the rules around visiting loved ones in long-term care homes are coming, but it remains to be seen when that happens.

There was no unanimous opinion among survey respondents though a large majority of families and residents said the system is not working, with some even saying the restrictions were ‘inhumane’.

One person wrote, “I don’t think she wants to stay alive if I can’t be by her side.” Another said, “I feel I am missing out on the limited time my husband has left.”

“This has been the most stressful and guilt-evoking time I have ever gone through… Not being able to comfort my mom is heartbreaking,” another wrote, saying it feels like they’ve deserted their mother.

Mackenzie makes three recommendations including allowing all residents to have a designated essential care partner, to allow social visits, and to create a provincial association so residents and their families can have more of a voice.

“We need to more formally recognize the role that some family members play as essential care providers for their loved one,” Mackenzie added.

“The survey highlights that we did not manage essential visits as well as we might have during the first phase of visit restrictions. We need to respect that family members and residents are better able than care-home administration to determine if their visits are essential to the health and well-being of residents.”

In the case of people in shared rooms, she notes other solutions may be required.

“In the last eight months, our response to the pandemic has evolved and we now know much more about how the virus is transmitted, how to screen for the virus, and what are effective layers of protection. We need to apply this evolving knowledge as as we allow greater flexibility for residents of long-term care and assisted living to spend time with their loved ones,” Mackenzie said.

“Finding the right balance will be challenging but it is the right thing to do as we seek to bring joy, comfort and an enhanced quality of life to British Columbia’s seniors.”

You can find the report here.