(February 11, 2020)<\/p>\n
By:\u00a0Kathleen Saylors,\u00a0Woodstock Sentinel Review<\/p>\n
The Oxford Coalition for Social Justice is adding its voice to the chorus of Ontarians concerned with the critical shortage of personal support workers in the province\u2019s long-term care homes.<\/p>\n
Sparked by a just-released report commissioned by the Ontario Health Coalition and Unifor, the union that represents Ontario\u2019s PSWs, health-care advocates are raising the alarm about what they are calling a growing \u201ccrisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, Unifor called for eight roundtables to be held across the province to discuss what problems our members had been bringing forward to us,\u201d said Melissa Holden, a member of the Oxford Coalition for Social Justice. \u201cThat is (now) this report \u2026 and it is absolutely a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the union and the Ontario Health Coalition were in Tillsonburg for a joint press conference, one of many they\u2019ve held in recent days about the report\u2019s findings. The most troubling finding from the public consultations is the rate of burnout in the profession. According to the report, Caring in Crisis, chronic understaffing results in only one to two PSWS working most shifts \u2013 or five to 10 during a typical 24-hour period. Coupled with low wages and a heavy workload, the turnover is continuous.<\/p>\n
In rural and northern parts of the province, the shortages can be even more dire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe findings were that PSWs are experiencing extraordinary amounts of burnout. We are not retaining long-term workers anymore,\u201d Holden said. \u201cI have been a PSW for more than 30 years \u2013 that is just not happening anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carolyn Ford, a 28-year PSW who attended the Tillsonburg press conference, also experienced the system when her mother was ill and the family used long-term care for respite.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen both ends of \u2026 the situation. The long-term care home did the best with what they were given,\u201d Ford said. \u201cAs a PSW, we can certainly do more better with more time and education, but there needs to be improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents aren\u2019t getting enough care, Ford suggested, because of overall staffing shortages and the accompanying stress. More are leaving the profession, and are at risk of injury and burnout, she added.<\/p>\n
In a statement, a spokesperson for Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton said the province is currently developing a long-term care staffing strategy that will be implemented by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecognizing that a motivated workforce is critical to a sustainable long-term care system, we are working to improve working conditions to promote recruitment and retention in order to meet current and future staffing needs,\u201d spokesperson Rebecca Bozzato said via email.<\/p>\n
Barry Harper, whose wife has been in long-term care for three years, spoke about his experiences and how staffing shortages impacted his wife\u2019s care.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very thankful for the job PSWs did for my wife,\u201d Harper said. \u201cIt\u2019s a hard and thankless job. It is very difficult for PSWs to work in an environment where things suddenly happen.<\/p>\n
Harper recounted a telephone call from his wife\u2019s care home telling him she had gone missing.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow they have a situation where they have to call the police to help find my wife,\u201c he said.<\/p>\n
Holden urged Ontarians to lobby their MPPs to support private member\u2019s Bill 13, the Time to Care bill, which is set to be reintroduced later this year by London MPP Teresa Armstrong.\u00a0That bill mandates that long-term care homes provide residents with at least four hours per day of nursing and personal support services.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am hoping \u2026 people reach out to their MPPs and ask them to support the Time to Care Bill 13,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re asking they put pressure on local MPPs to support that bill.\u201d<\/p>\n