People with Disabilities & COVID-19

People with Disabilities & COVID-19

User profile image Heather McKee - EENet Super Ninja

Event date: -

Event type: Single day (a day or less)

*Posting from AODA Alliance - Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities 

Log In Tuesday, April 7, 2020 from 10 to 11:30 AM Eastern Time for an Important Virtual Public Forum on What Government Must Do During the COVID-19 Crisis to Protect the Urgent Needs of Ontarians with Disabilities Convened by the AODA Alliance and the Ontario Autism Coalition

 

On Tuesday morning, April 7, 2020, from 10 to 11:30 am, please use your computer, smart phone or tablet to virtually attend the virtual public forum that the AODA Alliance and Ontario Autism Coalition are jointly organizing and hosting. We will talk to leading experts on the additional barriers and hardships that over 2.6 million Ontarians with disabilities are now facing during the COVID-19 crisis. We will offer the Government constructive ideas on what should be done in the face of these additional hardships. Hosting and moderating the discussion will be OAC President Laura Kirby-McIntosh and AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky.

 

The link to watch our public forum is https://www.youtube.com/c/OntarioAutismCoalition

 

We appreciate very much that the Ontario Autism Coalition will provide captioning for this event. We will announce more when we can. This event is being organized by volunteers in an incredible rush, given the rapidly changing events that are swirling around us all.

 

Please spread the word about our April 7, 2020 virtual public forum, by social media, email and any other way you can. Email us with ideas on what we should discuss. Tell us in advance about the barriers you are facing. Please understand that we cannot answer all those emails. However, we will do our best to cover as many of them as we can in our discussion with the panelists during this virtual public forum. Send your ideas to PWDForum@gmail.com

 

We invite the Ontario Government to assign a senior representative to take part in our public forum and to speak for a few minutes. We would welcome a chance to hear what they are doing, and to have a discussion with them. We invite all levels of government to watch our public forum and to draw on the ideas that will be shared there for emergency COVID-19 planning.

 

The new Twitter hashtag to use in the lead-up to this virtual public forum, during it, and afterwards is: #DisabilityUrgent

More info or to contact organizers see AODA Alliance website

 

 


User profile image Dylan - EENet Yoda Master
Open Letter: Ontario’s Triage COVID-19 Protocol

April 8, 2020

Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1

Hon. Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health of Ontario
College Park 5th Floor,
777 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M7A 2J3

Hon. Raymond Sung Joon Cho, Minister of Seniors and Accessibility of Ontario
Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
College Park, 5th Floor
777 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5G 2C8


Dear Hon. Premier Ford, Hon. Deputy Premier and Minister Elliott, and Hon. Minister Cho:

Re: Ontario’s Clinical Triage Protocol

We, the undersigned, share grave concerns regarding Ontario Health’s Clinical Triage Protocol for Major Surge in COVID Pandemic, dated March 28, 2020, which has yet to be released to the public. As disability organizations, we write in particular to underscore the disproportionate and adverse impact that the Triage Protocol will have on people with disabilities, and to make recommendations for reform.

The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately impacting persons with disabilities: our communities are more vulnerable to the virus and are being severely impacted by the necessary emergency response measures, like physical distancing, which interferes with the supports they need for daily living or is not altogether possible.

The Triage Protocol must respect the human rights of all persons, including persons with disabilities. Consultation with human rights experts and the marginalized communities of persons who are going to be disproportionately impacted by the Triage Protocol, must be conducted. Even though it is an emergency situation, the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be used as justification for discrimination.

To this end, we make the following specific recommendations:

(1) Persons with disabilities cannot be deprioritized for critical care on the basis of their disability

According to the Triage Protocol, some people will not get critical care because of their disability. For example, the Triage Protocol identifies particular disabilities, such as cognitive disabilities and advanced neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Persons with these disabilities may in some stages of their disability be deprioritized in determinations about who receives critical care.

It is imperative that decisions about who receives critical care should be made using objective clinical criteria directly associated with mortality risks of COVID-19, and must not be based on stereotypes or assumptions about a person’s disability, and longer term mortality rates that are not directly related to COVID-19. It should also be made clear that by virtue of someone’s disability, they will not be deemed a lower priority and passed over for another patient who does not have a disability.

(2) The Triage Protocol must clearly state that clinical judgment must not be informed by bias, stereotypes, or ableism

The Triage Protocol explicitly states that clinical assessments cannot take into consideration a patient’s socioeconomic privilege or political rank. As the health-care system has a long-entrenched history of ableism, the Triage Protocol must also explicitly state that implicit disability-based bias, stereotypes and ableist assumptions cannot factor into clinical judgment or assessment when allocating critical care resources. It must also make clear that decisions cannot be made on the basis of human-rights protected characteristics and intersecting identities. We understand that clinical judgment is an important part of the Triage Protocol, but there must be necessary safeguards to ensure that particular marginalized groups are not adversely impacted.

(3) Persons with disabilities cannot be deprioritized for critical care based on the supports they receive for daily living

According to the Triage Protocol, persons with disabilities who receive accommodations or supports from others for daily living are in some circumstances less likely to receive critical care. This means that the Triage Protocol has the effect of deeming the lives of persons who require assistance as being less worthy, or assumes that they have a lesser quality of life. These kinds of criteria are discriminatory and devalue the lives of persons with disabilities. The Protocol invites value-based judgments on the basis of disability-related accommodations, which are a basic human right.

(4) The Triage Protocol must clearly ensure that persons with disabilities receive necessary disability-related accommodations

The Triage Protocol does not have a clear statement that persons will receive necessary disability-related accommodations in the implementation of the Triage Protocol. Accommodations, such as interpretation, support or other services to access medical services, are a basic tenet of human rights law. Disability-related accommodations ensure that persons with disabilities have equal opportunity to receive, understand, and benefit from critical care.

We understand and appreciate that health care workers are working hard to care for all Ontarians, and a practical framework is required to help them make very difficult decisions about who gets critical care with some level of efficiency. We therefore support the development of a policy that respects human rights and has a fair procedure of decision making. We ask that any such framework not violate the basic human rights of persons with disabilities. The rationing of scarce resources in the health care system during this health crisis cannot be used as justification for discrimination.

Sincerely,

 
* Required
Please use this form to sign this open letter. The Organization name, or individual name if no affiliation, will be listed as signatory to the letter if your request is received before 3 pm Tuesday, April 7, 2020. This letter will be sent to Premier Ford, Minister Elliott and Minister Cho on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Note: Your contact information will not be visible on the open letter (it is for internal use only).
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User profile image Dylan - EENet Yoda Master

Dear ARCH Members, colleagues and ARCH Community Partners,

I hope this email finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe during these difficult times.

ARCH in collaboration with our partners drafted an open letter calling for urgent changes to Ontario Health’s Clinical Triage Protocol for Major Surge in COVID Pandemic, dated March 28, 2020. Although the Protocol is not public, we have reviewed it and it raises significant concerns for our communities. I kindly ask that you please consider signing it on behalf of your organization, or as an individual. Please forward this link widely to your partner organizations throughout Ontario. Please use the following link:

https://bit.ly/2UHRlpm  

The deadline for endorsements is 5pm Monday, April 6, 2020. It will be sent on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

You can find ARCH’s COVID related materials on our home page at the following link:

http://archdisabilitylaw.ca/

 

Thank you,

_______________________________________________

Roberto Lattanzio (he/him)

Executive Director

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