‘Out of control’: Damning report finds deficiencies at Herron long-term care home

MONTREAL — A damning report into the treatment of residents at a Dorval CHSLD at the beginning of the pandemic calls on the province to revoke private care home permits and ensure the level of care is the same as public institutions.

The Herron long-term care home was the site of a major COVID-19 outbreak last spring, which saw 31 residents die during the first wave of the pandemic. A public inquiry is on hold until the fall and the owners of the home are facing a class-action lawsuit. 

On Tuesday, a joint report by the bodies overseeing doctors and nurses in Quebec said the provincial government doesn’t have enough legal power to intervene into problematic private CHSLDs in the province. The seniors minister should have the power to revoke the licenses for private long-term care residences, according to one of the report’s several recommendations. 

The report puts the blame for the level of care at the home on the managers, but the owners have said they didn’t receive enough support from the West Island health authority. 

A look into the deplorable conditions at the care home revealed at the start of the pandemic the situation was “out of control.”

At one point there was only one nurse left to care for about 100 patients as staff were told not to come to work if they showed symptoms of COVID-19 or if they came into contact with someone who tested positive. By late March, 11 of 12 nurses had contracted the virus. 

“This instruction was given without regard to whether there were enough staff to meet basic care and support needs,” the report said. 

The staffing shortages translated into a deterioration of care for the residents, with many elderly patients in a state of hydration and left in soiled clothing for extended periods of time. 

The report was delivered to Quebec’s minister for seniors last week. 

Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s government has accused owners Groupe Katasa of withholding critical information about resident deaths. Groupe Katasa has denied the premier’s allegations, saying they had reached out for help and the death count at Herron only increased after the West Island Health Authority took over on March 29.