AdvantAge Ontario, which represents a number of long-term care homes in the province, says it’s pleased hands-on care will increase to four hours a day.
Executive Director Lisa Levin says the important thing is the announcement made last week has to come with the appropriate level of funding.
“There wasn’t a specific amount of money allocated to it and we need to have money flow to homes so that they can then go ahead and move towards four hours of care. So it’s not just the commitment to do it, but also the funding that’s needed.”
Levin says they have been advocating for increased care and staffing for years and the government finally seems to have listened to their concerns.
She notes “This is a bold step and it’s a big issue. So we’re very happy. We’ve been calling for this for over ten years now. This is an absolute, in our minds, not negotiable, we need to move forward as quickly as possible.”
Levin adds the government has indicated a “staffing strategy” will be released in December.
“We absolutely need to have, and we’ve been saying this for a couple of years now, a comprehensive strategy.”
