Health minister vows to ensure safety in long-term care
Ontario’s health minister has instructed staff to look at how newly acquired legislative powers can be used “to their fullest extent” to increase “safety and well-being” in Ottawa long-term care homes.
Eric Hoskins’ comments follow a series of Citizen stories on Ottawa long-term care homes. Since 2012, there have been 163 reported cases of resident abuse, 2,033 instances of non-compliance with provincial legislation, and at least 17 deaths that led to the homes involved being cited for non-compliance, an investigation by this newspaper found.
“The operators of Ontario’s longterm care homes are entrusted with the care and safety of our loved ones,” Hoskins said in a statement. “With the passing of the Strengthening Quality and Accountability for Patients Act, new enforcement tools are now available to me as minister to ensure this trust is upheld. “I have directed my staff to look at how these new tools can be applied to their fullest extent to increase the safety and well-being of long-term care residents in Ottawa and across the province.”
The Strengthening Quality and Accountability for Patients Act, or Bill 160, was passed earlier this month.
The new enforcement tools Hoskins mentioned include giving the ministry the power to fine homes up to $100,000 for noncompliance, and to suspend an operator’s licence and order interim management.
A spokesperson for Hoskins also said the minister is preparing a response to NDP leader Andrea Horwath. In a Monday letter to the minister, Horwath repeated her demand for a broad public inquiry into the province’s long-term care system, describing herself as shocked and concerned over details uncovered by the Citizen’s examination of Ottawa long-term care homes.
Hoskins declined an interview, but in his statement, he said “I’ll have more to say in the near future on how these new (enforcement) measures will be used to strengthen the quality of care in homes in Ottawa and beyond.”