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NDP slams B.C. government over policy which limits number of visitors for Christmas dinner at senior care homes

NDP slams B.C. government over policy which limits number of visitors for Christmas dinner at senior care homes

Are the Christy Clark Liberals the grinches who are stealing Christmas?

That seems to be the nefarious narrative the B.C. NDP is painting ahead of the festive season.

The province’s official opposition party has released details of a letter from the Vancouver Island Health Authority the arm’s length body that oversees health services in the region that imposes limitations on the number of family members that can attend Christmas dinner at their senior care homes.

"Food Services has changed how we provide meal and food programming at our Residential Care sites," notes a copy of one letter from one facility obtained by Yahoo Canada News.

"An example of this is is how we provide the Christmas meal. In years past we used to cater to all of the residents families and have large bustling excellent tasting meals and great festivities. However, as our residential care population has declined these large festivities are not meeting the needs of our residents. In order to respect our residents we have changed to smaller events that are less noisy, more intimate and meet the needs of our clients better.

"At North Island sites we allow 1 Invited guest per resident to a maximum of 10-12 guests per meal. For example if we have 80 residents in a facility we would serve (80+12) residents and guests for that meal. Families are always welcome; however we do need to limit the numbers due to noise, space requirements and staffing levels."

The NDP are calling on the government to immediately cancel the “bad policy.”

“What kind of misguided government would allow this to happen? Seniors deserve to have Christmas dinner with their families. What were the B.C. Liberals thinking?” NDP leader John Horgan said in a press statement released last week.

“After everything our seniors have done to build our communities and contribute to our province, the least we can do is ensure they get to enjoy Christmas dinner with their loved ones.”

In an email exchange with Yahoo on Wednesday afternoon, an NDP spokesperson said that Health Minister Terry Lake said he’d look into the situation but they hadn’t heard back from him yet.

Yahoo Canada News also contacted the Ministry for an explanation.

A government spokesperson promptly forwarded the request to the Health Authority who claimed the NDP’s narrative is a “mis-characterization of the situation.”

"Due to capacity as far as kitchen staff and physical space, our residential care facilities can only serve a certain number of meals on a given day," Sarah Plank, the Island Health media relations manager told Yahoo Canada News.

"Different facilities have different limitations on how many guests are able to attend a special meal, but we do work to accommodate guests as much as possible, recognizing the importance of connection with loved ones for the overall well-being of residents."

Plank notes that there are no restrictions on the number of people who can visit loved ones on Christmas Day only restrictions on the number of meals served.

"We encourage visitors and make smaller rooms with kitchen and dining capacity available for smaller gatherings where visitors can bring in food," she said

"We also put on celebratory events leading up to Christmas that do not have limits on the number of guests who can attend, for example, Christmas teas and afternoon/evening Christmas socials,"

Plank used the the 75-bed Trillum Lodge as an example noting that 25 guests can attend each of the meals on Christmas day breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"There is also a Christmas Eve dinner and New Year’s Eve dinner, and a Christmas tea, as well as Christmas socials," she said

Many residents go to a family member’s home or out for Christmas dinner, so most of our facilities don’t reach the capacity they have for the number of meals they are able to serve to guests.”

Plank admits that some residents are upset by the policy, but notes that they’ll work hard to ensure that every resident has the opportunity to share a “special meal” with their family and loved ones “over the Christmas season.”

According to its website, the Health Authority oversees approximately 60 senior residential care locations with thousands of tenants.

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