'They're dying': Lawyer says long-term care homes should be open to unvaccinated caregivers

A Montreal lawyer is contesting the validity of a government decree that stops unvaccinated caregivers from vising long-term care facilities (CHSLDs), accusing the province of creating a “catastrophic situation.”

According to health measures established in December, caregivers must be fully vaccinated to visit someone in hospitals or CHSLDs.

Lawyer Natalia Manole argues that these restrictions can actually put residents at risk.

“Many of these people have let themselves die, they refuse to eat or drink, they rip out their feeding tubes,” she told CTV News. “Some are maiming themselves. Some forget how to talk, some forget how to walk, some who must necessarily walk develop blood clots because there is no one to walk them.”

Representing more than 80 seniors and their unvaccinated caregivers, Manole filed for an injunction Friday to have the government decree suspended.

She says she’s received around 300 written testimonies so far, describing how elderly patients are suffering as a result of this COVID-19 measure.

“Every day for my clients is like a year, because they’re dying. Two have already died, and I have to remove their names from the file. We can’t continue like that,” Manole said.

Michele Chayer has been the caregiver for her 86-year-old father Marcel, who is partially paralyzed from a stroke.

Chayer is unvaccinated due to medical reasons, meaning she can no longer visit her father in his private senior’s residence.

“[I’ve] taken his hand for 8 years, and now I can’t,” said Chayer.

Last week, Marcel suffered another stroke and was hospitalized. Unable to visit him, Chater said she feels powerless.

“He is crying all the time and he’s asking for me all the time,” she said, adding that she doesn’t “think he’s going to get out of this hospital alive.”

The reasons why some of the caregivers aren’t vaccinated are unclear, but patient rights advocate Paul Brunet says it’s a wake-up call for the government.

“We’ve seen in the first waves how many hundreds, if not thousands, of patients in long-term care facilities have been abandoned to die in some instances,” said Brunet.

He says that if unvaccinated healthcare workers — and in some case COVID-positive workers — can care for seniors, unvaccinated caregivers should be able to do the same, with safety measures in place.

“Close caregivers can come by and continue helping, feeding, do the job that others don’t do.”

According to Natalie Manole, the court has “recognized the urgency of the matter” and scheduled the injunction hearing for Feb. 2.

The health ministry did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

With files from CTV's Stephane Giroux.