Telling the truth during a pandemic has its consequences
By Samir Sinha –Opinion piece
"When people look to doctors like me for advice, they often ask what I would do if it were me and my family member going through the same thing. I could not have in good conscience looked someone in the eye and said anything other than what I said to Picard — that if it were my mother in a care home not complying with evidence-based infection control practices, I would take them out. Of course, I knew that this wasn’t a practical or even possible option for the majority of families with loved ones in care. But I said it to underscore the urgency of the issue and advocate for immediate action. Every care home in Canada needs to ensure it is doing what it should, and not give their residents, their families, and their staff a false sense of security. The good news is that the article immediately drew the attention and razor sharp focus of decision makers that I work with at the provincial and federal levels. Within a week, new directives were being released in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, while the Public Health Agency of Canada even stepped in to launch new federal guidelines encouraging the widespread implementation of our iron ring formula across the country."