COVID-19: A Worldwide Hecatomb in Long-Term Care Facilities

Abstract

The death rate in LTCFs was described as an unimaginable tragedy by Hans Kluge, Europe WHO regional director. Across the world, during the first wave of COVID-19, between 30 and 80% of total fatalities occurred in nursing homes. The figures are staggering because nursing home residents only account for 1 to 6% of the total population. These deaths were not all due to the virus. Various studies show that lack of means and personnel, abandon, poor quality of care, neglect, abuse, violation of human rights, confinement, loneliness, and psychological problems are killers too. The pandemic shone a light on these facilities and their long-standing issues resulting from drastic cost-cutting, chronic understaffing, dire working conditions, high staff turnover, low wages, untrained staff, and profit over care. It also exposed governments’ ageism and statutory neglect such as policy decisions to issue triage guidelines regarding old people hospital admissions, to discharge symptomatic patients from hospitals to LTCFs, to prioritize hospital workers for PPE and PCRs, to disregard the potential impact of COVID-19 on LTCFs, and to allow violation of residents’ Human rights. The failed to enforce regulations, to prioritize care home residents and staff in response measures, to report mortality figures in LTCFs.