KITCHENER -- A local seniors' advocate would like to see more restrictions lifted for visitors to long-term care homes.
Last week, Ontario allowed visits to loved ones to resume under specific guidelines. John Vice with Seniors Guardian Angels said he thinks the restrictions are too severe.
"There is a lot of physiological damage being inflicted on residents of long-term care and their families," Vice said.
Guests are only allowed to come to the home once a week and have to visit outside. They also need to bring proof of a negative COVID-19 in the past two weeks and pass a symptom check when they arrive.
"The province has given direction to the long-term care homes and gave guidelines as to how the outdoor visits should be facilitated and expectations around that," said Dawna Courtney, who works at Chartwell Westmount Long-term Care Home. "It's always important that we follow those expectations because we need to ensure our residents and staff remain safe."
Vice still says the protocols are too strict.
"The problem is that these restrictions have turned nursing homes into prisons," he said.
He pointed to the fact that visits now need to be scheduled, instead of allowing people to stop by unannounced. He says this infringes on the residents' rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"Visitors will let the nursing home know about problems, visitors will file complaints with the Ministry of Health, visitors will call the police, visitors will file lawsuits," he said. "If there are no visitors, there is absolutely no feedback."
Vice said he plans to launch a constitutional challenge against the restrictions.
In a statement to CTV News, the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care saying in part, “these restrictions are intended to be temporary and are in place to ensure we don’t introduce or re-introduce COVID-19 into long-term care homes.
