General says military discipline helped restore stability to Quebec care homes during first wave
CBC
Brig.-Gen. Timothy Arsenault testified at a coroner's inquiry on Tuesday that when his soldiers first arrived to help out in Montreal's long-term care homes in May 2020, they found some residences "completely overwhelmed" and "chaotic."
Arsenault led a group of 1,500 Canadian Armed Forces soldiers in a support mission at 47 long-term care residences in Montreal during the first wave of the pandemic.
The province called in the military to help as deaths continued to rise.
Arsenault testified that it was clear when his troops arrived that there was a serious lack of nurses and orderlies.
He said the staffing shortage meant that managers were often directly caring for patients, and as a result, there was a general lack of planning and co-ordination.
Arsenault testified that often his soldiers found no clearly marked hot or cold zones to keep infected patients isolated, and that there was a general lack of discipline in correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
"This wasn't necessarily negligence or ignorance, but a reflection of the crisis underway. It was understandable given the context," Arsenault told the inquiry.
He added that the staffing shortages also meant that health-care workers were only able to provide a minimum of essential care, and that little things to make patients more comfortable were left behind.
Arsenault testified that his soldiers were able to help stabilize things quickly by adopting infection-control protocols and correct use of PPE, and thus provide a good example for health-care workers.
Arsenault said soldiers created a centralized supply depot to distribute PPE in Montreal, and helped managers come up with better systems to schedule and deploy staff.
He said he believes military assistance helped reduce the number of cases at residences, and gave health-care workers a bit of breathing room to restore stability.
"I'm proud of the positivity and adaptability of my soldiers. It was an honour to serve Quebecers in this way," Arsenault said.
Coroner Géhane Kamel thanked Arsenault for his service and asked him to pass along the message to all the soldiers who helped out.
"Your intervention was a breath of fresh air and a source of hope for all Quebecers," Kamel said.
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