Wives experienced problems with care

Re: Personal support workers in Ontario lack oversight of most other professions, July 18.

I am writing on behalf of a grassroots group called Mind the Gap. We are six wives whose husbands have or had dementia. Five of us have personally experienced the problems in long-term care facilities, and have been actively lobbying politicians and organizations to improve conditions.

Not everything about LTC is negative; most staff do an excellent job with the time they have for their residents and their families. However, you have exposed some serious issues of which most people are unaware.

In Elizabeth Payne’s article, Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, stated that “staffing levels in Ontario long-term care are the lowest in the country.”

He notes that in Ontario “our most vulnerable patients” receive, on average, 3.15 hours of care per day compared to 3.67 hours in the rest of the country. We have experienced staff shortages first-hand.

The other issue he noted was the lack of regulation for personal support workers who provide most of the care for residents. Not all PSWs receive the same training, and many are not trained to care for people with dementia.

We have learned that some PSWs receive training through an Ontario college but many are trained by the agencies that employ them. There is no regulating body to whom they are responsible to maintain standards. This must change if we value the well-being of our loved ones.

We know how heartbreaking it is to admit someone we love to long-term care because we were exhausted and could no longer provide the 24-hour care required. We trusted, as do most people do, that they would receive appropriate care and supervision. Your recent coverage has shown this is, too often, not the case.

Mind the Gap applauds your coverage of the problems in LTC and hopes you will continue to monitor these issues. We will continue to do our part by working with politicians and organizations in our effort to improve training for PSWs and improve community and LTC services. Carol Holmes-Kerr, Kanata, On behalf of Mind the Gap