COVID-19-related deaths in long-term care: The moral failure to care and prepare

Abstract

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Coletta

. Canada’s nursing home crisis: 81 percent of coronavirus deaths are in long-term care facilities. The Washington Post, 17 May 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/coronavirus-canada-long-term-care-nursing-homes/2020/05/18/01494ad4-947f-11ea-87a3-22d324235636_story.html

Moor

Brupbacher

Balmer

, et al. Mehr als die Hälfte starb in Alters- und Pflegeheimen. Der Bund, 18 May 2020, https://interaktiv.tagesanzeiger.ch/2020/corona-tote-mehrheitlich-aus-altersheimen/ (in German).

Rober

. Half of coronavirus deaths happen in care homes, data from EU suggests. The Guardian, 13 April 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/13/half-of-coronavirus-deaths-happen-in-care-homes-data-from-eu-suggests

Birnbaum

Booth

. Nursing homes linked to up to half of coronavirus deaths in Europe, WHO says. The Washington Post, 23 April 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/nursing-homes-coronavirus-deaths-europe/2020/04/23/d635619c-8561-11ea-81a3-9690c9881111_story.html

Yourish

Lai

Ivory

, et al. One third of all U.S. coronavirus deaths are nursing home residents or workers. The New York Times, 11 May 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/09/us/coronavirus-cases-nursing-homes-us.html

Burki T. World report: England and Wales see 20000 excess deaths in care homes. Lancet 2020; 395(10237): 1602.

Tronto

. Caring democracy: markets, equality, and justice. New York: New York University Press, 2013.

Covert

. The reality is, it’s incredibly hard. The Atlantic, 14 April 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/women-fighting-covid-19-are-underpaid-and-overworked/609934/

Moist

Fast facts: Canada’s long-term care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, April 2020, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/fast-facts-canada%E2%80%99s-long-term-care-workers-front-lines-covid-19-pandemic (accessed May 30 2020).

10.

Grant

Stone

. Care homes across Canada desperate for staff amid COVID-19 outbreak turn to librarians, museum workers. The Globe and Mail, 3 April 2020, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-care-homes-across-canada-desperate-for-staff-amid-covid-19-outbreak/

11.

Brewster

Kapelos

. Military alleges horrific conditions, abuse in pandemic-hit Ontario nursing homes. CBC News, 26 May 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/long-term-care-pandemic-covid-coronavirus-trudeau-1.5584960

12.

Bachega

. Coronavirus: inside story of Spain’s care home tragedy. BBC News, 30 April 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52188820

13.

Reith

. “No benefit” to sending seniors ill with COVID-19 to hospital, some nursing homes tell loved ones. CBC News, 3 April 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-19-long-term-care-1.5519657

14.

Vögeli

. Abgeschottet im Altersheim beten die Bewohnerinnen, dass es gut kommt. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 11 April 2020, https://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/coronavirus-zuerich-aendert-nun-das-testregime-in-heimenauch-viele-aeltere-covid-19-infizierte-entwickeln-keine-symptome-zuerich-aendert-nun-das-testregime-in-heimen-ld.1552089?reduced=true (in German).

15.

Lanoix

. Nursing homes in the time of COVID-19. Impact Ethics, April 2020, https://impactethics.ca/2020/04/21/nursing-homes-in-the-time-of-covid-19/ (accessed 30 May 2020).

16.

Trabucchi

De Leo

. Nursing homes or besieged castles: COVID-19 in northern Italy. Lancet Psychiatr 2020; 7(5): 387–388.

17.

Gaugler

. Family involvement in residential long-term care: a synthesis and critical review. Aging Ment Health 2005; 9(2): 105–118.