Change long-term care visits policy: ombudsperson

British Columbia's ombudsperson is calling on the province to make its policy on long-term care visits fair and consistent after complaints to his office by those trying to see loved ones during the pandemic.

Jay Chalke says he welcomes the provincial health officer's recent order that legally requires all long-term care homes to apply the visitor policy issued last month by the Health Ministry.

Chalke says that while Dr. Bonnie Henry's order expressly anticipates changes to the policy may be needed, he wants the ministry to make improvements because of his ongoing concerns about how it's being implemented.

Chalke is calling for mandatory timelines for decisions that facility staff make on requests for visits as well as for each stage of an appeals process in order to ensure timely outcomes.

Chalke says the shortcomings are unnecessarily amplifying an already difficult situation and facility operators should provide written reasons when visits are denied or restricted.

COVID-19 hit dozens of long-term care homes in every health authority in the province and the outbreaks are responsible for the majority of deaths since the pandemic began.