Issues at care homes ‘not new,’ MPPS say

Critical issues at Ontario’s longterm care homes might be in the forefront today, but they have been in the making for years, says the NDP MPP for Windsor West.

“I’ve had numerous calls, prior to COVID-19, from constituents, from workers within the facilities,” said Lisa Gretzky on Wednesday.

“They’ve been sounding alarm bells for years, locally.”

Gretzky said she was saddened but unfortunately not surprised to read about the appalling conditions found by Canadian Armed Forces personnel at five long-term care facilities in Ontario, as detailed in a recently disclosed report.

The damning report describes infirm residents living with fecal contamination, cockroach infestations, bed sores, no bathing for weeks, unanswered pleas for help, lack of staff — and lack of regard for COVID -19 containment measures.

At Queen’s Park Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford announced Ontario is taking over management of four of the five long-term care homes that were the subject of the report.

The government will be conducting “extremely rigorous” inspections of those homes, as well as 13 others facing challenges managing COVID-19, and will be doing random spot checks across the province, Ford said.

Ford said he is also expediting an independent commission into long-term care and is hopeful it will be established in July.

“Through successive governments, those concerns have gone completely ignored,” Gretzky said.

Fellow NDP member of provincial parliament Percy Hatfield (Windsor-tecumseh) expressed a similar view Wednesday.

“When the military observed in their report that seniors were falling and no one was helping them back, the sad reality is that this is not new,” Hatfield said in the legislature.

“Why has the government not implemented better standards to help seniors from falling in longterm care homes, and why has the problem steadily gotten worse?”

Insufficient staff resources, inadequate training, and lack of in-person inspections are the key factors, according to Gretzky.

Gretzky believes such problems are the result of a push toward privatization in senior services that has been going on for decades.

“It’s a for-profit system where the bottom line is for shareholders to make money,” she said. “That is not the way we should be going. That is not a direction that provides the hands-on care that people who live in long-term care deserve.”

But Gretzky added that she finds it “frankly infuriating” that Ontario’s Conservative government would attempt to lay blame on previous governments.

“This has been a problem in the making for years. COVID-19 has only shone a spotlight on what has been going on for a long time. The government had an opportunity to act before the pandemic, they have an opportunity to act now.”

John Scotland, CEO of the Steeves & Rozema Group, who own and operate Heron Terrace Longterm Care Community and other similar facilities, feels inadequate staffing is the most critical part of the issue.

“Our homes welcome and are open to inspections, but let’s not be fooled into thinking that the problem can be solved through more inspections and regulations,” he said.

“What’s needed is funding for more staff, and the flexibility to hire and retain the best staff to meet the care needs of residents living in long-term care.”

When Heron Terrace became one of the homes hardest hit by COVID-19, the facility faced a staffing crisis.

The situation was resolved with the help of the COVID-19 field hospital on the St. Clair College campus, and a concerted effort to quickly and fully restore Heron Terrace’s staffing levels.

“We’re grateful for this, but our residents need and deserve more than a temporary fix,” Scotland said.