COVID-19 pandemic.Géhane Kamel, who investigated deaths in long-term care during the early days of the pandemic, concludes that the Health Department offered no specific instructions to long-term care homes despite knowing older people were particularly at-risk from the novel coronavirus.
Herron care home was ‘deserted,’ even after health authority took over, recordings show Kamel’s inquest looked at 53 deaths in long-term care, including 47 at the Herron, a private residence in the Montreal area.Her report released Monday recommends that the province’s college of physicians review the decision by doctors who treated patients at three long-term care centres — including the Herron — to offer remote consultations in the spring of 2020 while people were dying.
Quebec’s top doctor defends COVID-19 response at inquest into long term care deaths She is also recommending that Quebec’s public health director be given more independence, writing that then-director, Dr.
Horacio Arruda, may have had difficulty taking decisions because he was also a deputy minister.Kamel says Quebec’s early pandemic response suffered from a lack of coordination and a clear chain of command. .