The Saskatchewan Health Authority stepped in as the administrator of all Extendicare long-term care facilities in Saskatchewan after the provincial ombudsman’s report into the COVID-19 outbreak at Parkside Extendicare in Regina was released Thursday. The SHA will be operating as the administrator for 30 days, and will then submit a report to the Ministry of Health on the compliance of the recommendations of the ombudsman. 

The Parkside Extendicare was the scene of a COVID-19 outbreak in November of 2020. Of the 198 residents, 194 got COVID-19, and 39 would pass away as a result. Of the staff at Parkside Extendicare, 132 would contract COVID-19. 

The report by provincial ombudsman Mary McFadyen showed Extendicare and the Saskatchewan Health Authority were aware in March of 2020 that Parkside would have troubles handling a COVID-19 outbreak, but were still badly unprepared.  

There wasn’t consistent screening of staff for symptoms, and the company failed to ensure staff followed precautions while taking breaks. There was confusion over masking guidelines as the SHA and Extendicare officials believed Parkside did not have to adhere to the masking guidelines. 

There was no outbreak staff contingency plan in place and this created a staffing crisis. This was one of the reasons why the SHA took over Parkside and has managed it since the outbreak. 

Based on the findings by McFadyen, it was recommended by the ombudsman that Extendicare apologize to the families of the residents who passed away as a result of the outbreak, and to all the other residents who had their lives disrupted; that it collaborates with the SHA to conduct a critical incident review of the outbreak; that administrators and staff comply with their own rules as well as the rules laid out by the Ministry of Health and the SHA, and that there are sufficient resources on site for staff to be able to comply with all relevant infection prevention management practices.   

"I want to thank the provincial ombudsman's office for her thorough review of the circumstances that lead to the outbreak at Parkside Extendicare," Hindley said.  "As a health system, we must learn from this tragedy and ensure that we do everything we can to prevent similar outbreaks in long-term care settings. 

"In particular, it's my expectation that Extendicare Canada will accept these recommendations to provide the safest care possible to their residents." 

There were four recommendations specific for the Saskatchewan Health Authority in the report. They include the SHA immediately stopping the practice of having four special care home residents sharing a bedroom; updating the standard written agreement for special care home operators and ensuring all operators comply with care-related policies; establishing and implementing a detailed annual review and reporting process to ensure special care homes are following all required care-related policies; and that the SHA ensures communicable disease prevention and control management are consistently applied in all special care homes in Saskatchewan.