No Visitors Please : Families grapple with new COVID-19 policies that leave them cut off from vulnerable loved ones in hospital - a podcast by CBC Radio

Since the World Health Organization declared COVID19 a pandemic, hospitals across Canada have kept most visitors outside the sliding doors. There are a few exceptions, such as when you're giving birth or a loved one is critically ill or dying. But for the majority of people hospitalized with COVID19 or other conditions such as a heart attack or cancer, it means patients only on the inside, and loved ones on the outside. The aim is stringent infection control to protect frontline healthcare workers and the most vulnerable of patients from the coronavirus. But as time passes, we’re coming to grips with the fact that there’s a cost to that. This week, White Coat, Black Art speaks to Canadians who are grappling with the policy. Donna Morgan's 87-year old father has been in a B.C. hospital since February when he had a stroke. She hasn't seen him for nearly a month and says she's worried about his mental and physical health. Anna Foat of London, Ont., chose to take her mother-in-law, who has dementia, out of her rehab facility. (This interview is podcast only). Winnipeger Bryan Regehr (Re-Geer), an emergency and cardiac nurse at St. Boniface Hospital In Winnipeg talks to Dr. Goldman about having the unfortunate task of telling families they can't see their loved ones. Advocates are now starting to push for the policy to be re-examined. Julie Drury of Ottawa is the former chair of the Patient and Family Advisory Council for Ontario. She believes there's still a place for some family members inside the hospital, even during the COVID-19.

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