Left at the Door
For families of people with complex disabilities or medical needs in Newfoundland and Labrador, a hospital admission shouldn't mean a sudden loss of the support system that keeps their loved ones safe — but that's exactly what's been happening.
Families across the province say that when their relatives, who rely on around-the-clock personal support workers, are admitted to acute care hospitals, those workers are being turned away at the door. The result: patients who depend on trained caregivers for communication, mobility, feeding, and daily care are left to navigate a hospital stay without them.
A Three-Year-Old Recommendation, Still Unaddressed
This isn't a new issue. Back in 2022, the Citizens' Representative of Newfoundland and Labrador — an independent officer of the legislature who investigates complaints about government services — formally recommended that the province develop a clear policy allowing support workers to accompany clients into acute care settings.
Three years later, families say little has changed in practice. Hospital staff and administration continue to deny entry to personal support workers, leaving patients and their families in a difficult and often frightening position.
N.L.'s Department of Health has acknowledged the gap and says it is working on a formal policy to address the issue — but for families currently dealing with hospitalizations, that timeline offers little comfort.
Why It Matters
For people with complex needs, continuity of care isn't a luxury — it's a safety issue. Support workers often know their clients better than any hospital staff member could after a brief intake assessment. They understand individual communication styles, behavioural triggers, dietary needs, and medical histories in granular detail.
Without that familiarity in the room, patients may be unable to advocate for themselves, may receive care that doesn't account for their specific needs, or may experience heightened distress during an already stressful hospitalization.
Family members who have stepped in to fill the gap describe exhausting shifts sitting bedside for days at a time — unpaid, untrained for acute medical settings, and stretched thin.
A National Conversation
While this story is unfolding in Newfoundland and Labrador, the underlying tension — between hospital visitor and infection-control policies and the rights of people with disabilities to have essential support personnel present — is a national issue.
Across Canada, disability advocates have long argued that personal support workers accompanying patients with complex needs should be categorized differently than general visitors. They are not there for social reasons; they are part of the care team.
Provinces including Ontario and British Columbia have taken steps in this direction, particularly following advocacy that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when blanket visitor restrictions had devastating consequences for patients with disabilities.
N.L. families are now calling for the province to move from intention to action — and to make good on the Citizens' Representative's recommendation before another family is left scrambling at the hospital entrance.
What Families Want
Advocates are asking for a straightforward policy change: formal recognition that essential support workers are not visitors, but care partners, and that their presence during hospital stays should be protected and facilitated — not left to the discretion of individual staff or administrators.
Until that policy is in place, families say they'll keep showing up and keep pushing.
Source: CBC News Newfoundland & Labrador
