{"id":14221,"date":"2020-08-13T16:16:31","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T20:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/?p=14221"},"modified":"2020-09-01T19:36:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T23:36:59","slug":"levy-fix-the-problems-before-you-add-more-ltc-beds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/levy-fix-the-problems-before-you-add-more-ltc-beds\/","title":{"rendered":"LEVY: Fix the problems before you add more LTC beds"},"content":{"rendered":"

(August 12, 2020)<\/p>\n

By: Gord Holder, Ottawa Sun<\/p>\n

Why do politicians repeatedly think that throwing more money at a long-time problem will fix it?<\/p>\n

There are no shortage of examples in my political experience.<\/p>\n

But Premier Doug Ford\u2019s announcement Tuesday that he intends to fast-track another long-term care home with 320 beds suggests to me that the provincial government is tone deaf to the real issues in the industry and wants to appear to be doing something by splashing money around.<\/p>\n

The latest home will be built on the grounds of the Humber River Hospital\u2019s Finch site \u2014 complete with air-conditioning and private or semi-private rooms, we heard.<\/p>\n

That project will join two others in Mississauga \u2014 640 beds combined \u2014 and a third in Ajax with 320 beds.<\/p>\n

In each case, no indication was given as to who will build or operate the homes but I\u2019m betting those lobbyists (many formerly on Ford\u2019s team) and officials associated with the for-profit LTC industry are licking their chops at the possibilities.<\/p>\n

However well-meaning Ford\u2019s plan to fix a \u201cbroken system\u201d may be, he and his advisors are missing the point.<\/p>\n

As COVID has shown, the LTC industry is broken and it\u2019s not simply because there are not enough places to warehouse the elderly \u2014 or as seniors advocates have come to call them \u201cpandemic prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n

I say \u201cwarehouse\u201d because sticking 320 people in one home is the wrong way to go given how easily COVID spread through some of the larger already problematic facilities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also inhumane.<\/p>\n

That said, I wonder whether Ford and his LTC Minister Merrilee Fullerton were listening when the Ontario Health Coalition released a scathing study three weeks ago showing that staffing levels in LTC homes are worse than ever.<\/p>\n

The study showed that many residents are going without full baths or showers and receive virtually no one-on-one interaction or emotional support. The staffing levels are so bad, the OHC found, that many residents are receiving \u201crushed care.\u201d<\/p>\n

So if there\u2019s not enough staff available or willing \u2014 given the impossible work conditions and low pay \u2014 to work in the homes that exist now, where will staff be found to service 1,280 new beds?<\/p>\n

Can college programs even turn out PSWs and other staff quickly enough? How many will want to work in such a difficult job post-COVID, especially given the increased needs and dementia issues of current LTC clients?<\/p>\n

Staffing aside, if there\u2019s one thing COVID has shown \u2014 sadly in real time and living colour \u2014 it\u2019s the neglect, abuse and horrific conditions in some homes and the lack of consequences for homes that are repeatedly reported by the long-term care ministry as non-compliant under the relevant legislation.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have to go any further than May\u2019s scathing report by the Canadian military on five Ontario LTC homes to get insight into the contemptible conditions, inhumane treatment and poor infection control practiced during COVID\u2013 conditions that continue to occur four months later, according to recent inspection reports provided to the Toronto Sun.<\/em><\/p>\n

Trouble is, inspections are done, non-compliance is documented and the ministry doesn\u2019t follow up \u2014 or revoke licenses if conditions are truly despicable.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the pandemic has shown how much the LTC industry calls the shots, evidenced further by the often draconian rules they\u2019ve imposed on family visits to their loved ones after four months of isolation and their refusal to permit essential family caregivers back into facilities.<\/p>\n

Vivian Stamatopoulos, associate teaching professor at Ontario Tech University \u2014 who specializes in family caregiving \u2014 agreed that once again the province is announcing more LTC beds rather than addressing ongoing problems plaguing existing homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of putting out the current collective LTC house fire, our government seems to focus primarily on building future homes for hypothetical residents of tomorrow,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cBuilding future LTC warehouses does nothing to assure the safety and well-being of those who need our help the most right now.\u201d<\/p>\n