Mistakes, bad decisions led to dozens of COVID-19 deaths at Langley care home, leaked report shows
Posted September 17, 2020 6:57 am.
Last Updated September 17, 2020 2:06 pm.
LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) – A leaked report suggests mistakes were made at many levels, leading to the death of 26 people at a long term care centre in Langley.
The documents, put together by the CEO of the Langley Care Society, are apparently from an investigation that was launched after the deadliest outbreak of COVID-19 in B.C.
The contents of the 30-page report, reportedly leaked to Glacier Media by someone who claims to work at a provincial health authority, were verified to be factual by Glacier Media staff, and weren’t supposed to be shared publicly.
“The intent is not to lay blame or point fingers or push responsibility on to other parties,” CEO Debra Hauptman tells Glacier Media, adding the intent of putting the report together was to help the care centre prepare for a potential second wave of the coronavirus.
The first case of COVID-19 showed up at the 139-bed Langley Lodge at the end of March, after an infected nurse didn’t take part in screening protocols and transmitted the virus to others at the facility.
That outbreak was contained, but there was then a second at the end of April which had fatal consequences, ultimately leaving 26 people dead.
This second outbreak also began with an infected staff member, the report says.
“Staff worked past 2 shifts and was feeling unwell on both, but didn’t report and avoided the screening desk on last shift,” the report says. “Provided care to 16 residents on two separate units… possible breach of PPE.”
An inspection in May found there were shortfalls when it came to proper use of personal protective equipment.
“Due to fear of infection, many staff were double-gowning, and the gowns were extremely thin and not fluid resistant,” the report, according to Glacier Media, reads. “Some staff purchased hazmat suits and donned/doffed gowns over the suits.”
However, the report suggests that of the 59 types of PPE, 18 fell short of standards.
The outbreak at Langley Lodge was declared over on July 3.
NEWS 1130 has reached out to the health ministry, the nurses union, and families.
