Deer Lodge Centre scabies outbreak upsets families, staff By: Carol Sanders Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 21, 2019

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/05/2019 (2000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A scabies outbreak at Deer Lodge Centre has family members of residents there upset about “poor communication” and the union representing employees of Veterans’ Affairs calling for more resources for the facility it says is declining “at an alarming rate.”

On Tuesday, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority confirmed it has eight confirmed cases of scabies among residents with no staff affected.

“An outbreak – defined as two or more cases within the same facility – was declared on May 14 and remains in effect,” a WRHA spokesman said. “Scabies outbreaks are unfortunately not uncommon in health care and other institutional settings across Canada and around the world,” the WRHA spokesman said in an email.

‘Staff are already overworked because of cutbacks and funding losses…How are they expected to bring the scabies to an end without impacting other portions of care for the clientele?’ – Virginia Vaillancourt, national president of the Union of Veterans’ Affairs Employees

“Standard infection prevention and control measures, including standard contact precautions, have been in place at Deer Lodge Centre for staff, residents and visitors since May 15.

“Examples of such measures include limitations on the number of visitors; hand-washing requirements when entering and leaving the unit; the use of gowns and gloves by staff caring for patients, and disinfecting medical equipment following its use to mitigate any risk of further transmission.” It said “families of residents have been advised of the outbreak and provided with information about visitor restrictions and standard precautions, as well as some general information about scabies. Any risk to visitors, staff and fellow residents can be addressed by following proper precautions. There is no risk to the general public who are not in contact with affected residents.”

A Winnipeg woman whose relative is in Deer Lodge Centre said she was upset that she only found out about the outbreak by word of mouth recently and saw a sign posted Tuesday notifying visitors of the scabies outbreak. “If you haven’t been in to visit, you don’t know know what’s going on. It’s very upsetting,” she said.

“It’s very, very poor communication on their part not to tell people and not to tell their families,” said the woman who didn’t want to be named and identify her family member who has a suspected case of scabies and is quarantined. “He showed symptoms — very bad itching and a rash.” She said she and others should’ve been notified as soon as the first case was confirmed to prevent its spread.

“Other people could be carrying it and walking around,” said the woman whose relative was treated with a cream from head to toe before bed that was washed off in the morning. “They wrap up all their clothes and put them in bags and clean the room. Anyone who goes in the room has to wear gloves and a gown,” she said.

There’s no activities or physiotherapy for the 36 residents during the outbreak to try and prevent its spread, she said. And funding cutbacks have already taken a toll on resident care, she said.

“The staff are run off their feet,” said the woman. She said she was surprised to learn how the outbreak came to the centre’s attention.

“This was not discovered by Deer Lodge,” she said. “This was discovered when one fellow went to a dermatologist and complained about an itch over a week ago.”

“It’s very, very frustrating: Where it where did it come from? How long has it been around?”

The latest scabies outbreak in Deer Lodge — there have been at least two previous outbreaks there in recent memory — is just one of the problems they’ve been trying to bring to the attention of Manitoba’s Health minister following funding cuts that are affecting how veterans are being treated, the national president of the Union of Veterans’ Affairs Employees in Ottawa said Tuesday.

“Staff are already overworked because of cutbacks and funding losses,” said Virginia Vaillancourt in Ottawa. “How are they expected to bring the scabies to an end without impacting other portions of care for the clientele?”

Deer Lodge Centre transferred from a Veterans Affairs Canada hospital to a provincial facility in 1983. Since changing from an acute general hospital to a facility caring for adult patients with complex needs, it became the largest rehabilitation and long term care facility in Manitoba, with a bed capacity of 429.

There are now 60 veterans staying at Deer Lodge Centre and one veteran is on the waiting list to get in, said Vaillancourt. Since January, the centre lost four dietary aide positions, nine messengers, two ward clerks, a volunteer co-ordinator and saw a reduction in health care aides, and rehab workers, said Vaillancourt, who has also been trying to get a meeting with the federal Veterans’ Affair Minister to raise concerns about their care at Deer Lodge Centre.

“We’ve seen this facility go down at an alarming rate,” said Vaillancourt.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.

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