The Saskatchewan Health Authority announced expanded guidelines for visitation and family presence in long term care facilities on Wednesday.
In particular, the SHA has expanded the criteria for compassionate reasons related to visitation restrictions. Visitation criteria will be adapted to include more than just those needed to support the direct care of residents, according to SHA CEO Scott Livingstone at a news conference in Regina.
Livingstone explained that one of the first steps taken in response to the pandemic was to temporarily restrict visitors except for compassionate reasons. “Our initial response required a fairly narrow definition of compassionate for grounds of visitation,” said Livingstone. Given the devastation seen in long term care homes in other provinces, this was a necessary step.
“While we need to protect our patients, residents and staff has not changed, we also recognize there is a need to find the right balance between physical safety, mental health and well-being. We know that illness and age can make time an especially precious commodity for many in our care, so together with the advice from patients, residents, families, we are finding the right path forward.”
This is in response to a Family Presence Expert Panel that has met in the last few weeks consisting of patient and family advisors, and public health and Infection Prevention and Control experts. They came up with the sage
According to Livingstone the following starts immediately, with full implementation planned for the coming week:
Starting immediately, long term care facilities can permit visiting for su[pport persons able to address unmet quality of life needs of residents.
There will be strict protocols to guide this and support physical safety. They are also adding clarity on outside visitation at long term care homes.
They are also providing clarity to family-present guidelines for inpatients, outpatients and emergency care. According to a news release, all critical care and intensive care patients are now included in the compassionate care definition and family presence for palliative care has been expanded to facilitate two family members or support people being present at the same time.
As an additional safety measure all outpatient family members or support persons will be provided a medical-grade mask to use while inside SHA homes and facilities. Broad and growing testing criteria can also be used to alleviate concerns.
“These policies are not our norm but are designed to meet the demands of an unprecedented situation,” said Livingstone.
For more information on visitation guidelines, visit the new section on www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 under Visiting SHA facilities.
Livingstone also announced some further steps being taken this month regarding their pandemic response, in anticipation to the move towards a “new normal”.
Changes are coming to the Emergency Operations Centre that had been set up by the SHA to coordinate the COVID-19 response. Next Wednesday, it will be transitioned back into their regular operations structure, Livingstone said.
To manage the ongoing need to centrally manage public health matters connected to COVID-19 so a Public Health Incident Command Centre will be activated June 8. This will have a narrower focus and will coordinate information sharing, decision making and key public health functions of their pandemic response, and it will also manage such things as surveillance, contact tracing, public health inspections and enforcement.
