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Long-Term Care

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Ontario NDP Calling For Long Term Home Changes

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The NDP is asking for a public inquiry into how Ontario’s long term care homes are run.

Leader Andrea Horwath says the COVID-19 pandemic shows there is a serious problem, one that has existed for years.

“There’s no way that corporations should be making millions of dollars a year while the treatment of our loved ones and seniors in long term care is so abdominal.”

Horwath says public health should take over homes, instead of the military, in homes that have had outbreaks.

She stresses for the sake of vulnerable seniors, the government needs to adopt new, urgent measures and fix the crisis in long-term care.

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Ontario Formally Asks Canada For Help

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The Premier calls the pandemic the fight of our lives.

Doug Ford says we are doing well in stopping the spread in our communities, but long term care homes in southern Ontario are struggling to combat the virus.

“I will draw on every resource and that includes from our federal counterparts,” Ford said.

The province is making a formal request to the federal government for the help that would include military personnel and support for long term care homes.

“They have offered the resources of the federal government to assist Ontario. Those extra reinforcements include resources from the Public Health Agency of Canada and Canadian forces personnel. We will begin by directing the additional personnel are deployed to five priority homes in the province,” Ford said.

The Premier said the additional personnel will provide staffing relief and assist with operations, coordination and medical care for long term care residents.

The provincial government won’t say which long term care homes in the province will be getting the extra help. Officials say it will depend on who needs it the most at the time.

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Investment To Protect Long-Term Care Homes

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Ontario is ramping up protection for long-term care residents and workers.

Premier Doug Ford has unveiled what he calls a robust action plan that includes more money for long-term care homes across the province in case of a COVID-19 outbreak.

“Emergency funding for hiring more staff, restricting non-essential visitors, 24/7 screening of staff and residents and stepping up cleaning measures. We passed an Emergency Order to ensure every employee in long-term care homes can only work in one home.”

Ford says this investment will help protect residents, help reduce the spread of the virus and reduce the risk of potential exposure.

“We will continue to use every tool. We will spare no expense to protect residents and staff and keep them safe and healthy.”

The battle against COVID-19 has shifted to seniors homes, with 93 outbreaks reported across Ontario.

Meantime, the provincial government says they are working with the federal government to ensure small businesses aren’t kicked out of their spaces by landlords who didn’t get paid for the month of April.

Premier Doug Ford says Finance Minister Rod Phillips has been working on this issue with the Feds.

“You have to realize there’s 1.2 million leases just here in Ontario and we need the support of the federal government if we are going to look at this. I encourage the landlords and the tenants, when it comes to Commercial leases, to try and sit down and work it out.”

Ford also suggests small businesses inquire about loans the federal government is providing in the meantime.

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Canada At “Critical Stage”: Federal Health Officials

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You are being urged to keep staying home as much as possible during the Easter long weekend.

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says we are still at a very critical stage in the fight against COVID-19.

“What each of us does now impacts the trajectory of this epidemic. By following tried and true public health advice, we can all do our part to help save lives. Keep staying at home as much as possible, practising good hygiene and connecting with your loved ones virtually. By staying apart, we can get through this together,” Dr. Tam said in a statement issued Sunday.

Across Canada there are 23,301 positive cases, and 653 deaths.

She is also sending her condolences to those who have lost a loved one to outbreaks in long-term care homes, where many COVID-19 deaths have taken place.

Dr. Tam says the efforts to keep the coronavirus out of long-term care homes led to the creation of new guidelines for those facilities released yesterday.

It includes ensuring staff and essential volunteers wear a mask for the duration of their shift, and discard it afterward. Health officials also say they should be trained in how to properly put on, wear, and remove personal protective equipment to minimize the spread of the virus onto themselves or their surroundings.

Other measures include restricting visitors to long-term care homes, and recommends testing visitors, staff, and residents with even mild symptoms.

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Call For More Long-Term/Home Care Support

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The leader of the provincial NDP is calling on the Ford government to immediately make major changes and investments in long-term care homes and home care to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Andrea Horwath says several reports last year showed there was an under-staffing crisis in long term care facilities and the current pandemic only makes the problem worse.

Horwath says to start with, PSW’s need to make at least $22 an hour to bring more people into the field.

“We need to see these jobs be more attractive to attract people into them. I mean it’s a hard job. We are asking those folks on the front lines, that work in long term care and in home care, to put their own health at risk. I mean these folks are warriors.”

She stresses “Let’s make that job a well paid job. Give it the dignity and the respect that it deserves in terms of remuneration and that will help the government to attract more workers into those positions so people aren’t having to take double shifts.”

The NDP states that since the pandemic started, there have been at least 36 outbreaks in long term care homes in the province.

Calls from the Official Opposition:

-Aggressively recruiting home care and long-term care staff
-Mandate that more staff be scheduled on each shift in each long-term care home
-Immediately increase salaries for staff to a minimum of $22/hr in order to retain and attract workers, including Personal Support Workers (PSW’s) and Registered Practical Nurses (RPN’s)
-Assign each staff member to one facility only, and ensure they have full-time hours, to eliminate the potential for staff to transmit COVID-19 to other facilities, ending all exceptions
-Standardize visitor politics province-wide to prevent COVID-transmission from visitors and volunteers, seeking Public Health determination on the safest policy
-Mandate that home care workers wear personal protective equipment-including gloves and surgical masks-for every home visit, to avoid transmission from one vulnerable client to another, and mandate long-term care staff wear PPE any time they’re with residents.
-Create a caregiver fund to support families that choose to care for their loved one at home

 

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Long-Term Care Changes Coming

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The provincial government is launching long-term care consultations in January.

The Minister in charge, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton says the two sessions are meant to gather feedback on how to put together a minor capital funding program.

Fullerton adds long-term care providers know best of what is needed to maintain their homes and quality care to residents.

The Ministry will also be accepting written feedback on proposals from long-term care givers.

You can provide input by e-mailing ltc.info@ontario.ca