Our long-term care nightmare is getting worse

Just when we thought we had heard the worst about the state of Ontario’s long-term-care homes, we learn it is even worse than we thought.

A report released this week by the Canadian Armed Forces is the worst yet. We have been told things are terrible. If this report is representative, it’s even worse. It’s a horrible nightmare.

Cockroaches and other insects in soiled bedding. Rotten food. Staff moving from unit to unit wearing contaminated gear. Patients with skin ulcers left stuck in their beds. Inadequate training and medical supplies. Infected patients wandering freely between units. Fecal contamination, residents going without bathing for weeks, residents crying out for help for two hours. Residents bed-bound for weeks on end, many with pressure ulcers. Many residents not receiving three meals a day due to staff shortages. Residents receiving expired medication. Patients left in soiled diapers.

These allegations are only concerning five LTC homes in the Toronto area where CAF personnel have been helping during the pandemic. It’s important to keep in mind that we don’t know how many facilities are this bad. In fact, there are many LTC homes where COVID-19 has been avoided, or limited due to adherence to established protocols. We have to avoid painting all homes with the same brush.

But it is also important to know that these examples are probably not uncommon. Conditions in many LTC homes have been below standard for years. Advocates have been sounding the alarm, but no one paid enough attention. Then the pandemic came along, and serious problems become a crisis, and yield horror stories.

Consider the words of Ontario Long-Term Care Association CEO Donna Duncan, who reacted to the report with this statement: “Ontario’s long-termcare homes have been clear about the dire situation on the front lines of this unprecedented fight against COVID-19. The virus has exacerbated systemic issues, like the long-standing staffing challenges, as it impacts homes in varying degrees.”

That’s the thing. These problems aren’t new. Politicians in the Ford government have heard about them ever since they were elected, and instead of addressing them the government loosened inspection requirements, in effect allowing the situation to get even worse, before the pandemic came along and those long-term systemic problems became a nightmare scenario.

The premier now refers to his having “inherited” the problem, which is true, but it hardly excuses his government. It could have acted much sooner, but consciously chose not to. Much of the blame has to be apportioned to the Liberal government that came before. And the Conservative government that came before that, and opened the long-term-care sector to private operators.

Does that mean the only sure fix is to remove the private sector? Some argue yes, that LTC must become another arm of the public health-care system, like hospitals. Others say it’s unfair to lump all private operators into one unethical group, and that’s fair too because there are excellent privately operated and non-profit homes.

But one fact that is not in dispute is that the majority of homes with the most serious reported problems are privately run. You won’t find a hospital with the same sort and degree of problems, because we would never tolerate it. Why wouldn’t we use the same bar for LTC homes?

The premier is horrified, but still won’t consider a full public inquiry, for reasons only he can explain. With every new horror story, the need for an inquiry becomes more clear. Why can’t Doug Ford see it?