Long-term care system in ‘crisis,’ union says

Push underway to get residents at least 4 hours of attention a day

There is isn’t enough time in the day for long-term care staff to give residents the care they deserve, says one local personal support worker.

Heather Neiser, in the field for 19 years, said she’s given five to 10 minutes to help residents with their morning routine, which can include waking them, getting them dressed and taking them to the washroom.

“Imagine if you only had that little bit of time to get ready for the day.”

Neiser joined the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and a representative from the Advocacy Committee of Family Councils in Hamilton Tuesday to demand the province make four-hour daily care for residents mandatory.

CUPE, which represents more than 30,000 members in longterm care homes, is on a provincewide tour pressing political parties to support a private member’s bill that would make this minimum standard of care law.

“The long-term care system is in crisis,” said Candace Rennick, secretary-treasurer for CUPE Ontario and a former long-term-care worker. “The common thread among everything is more time to care.”

Tom Carrothers, chair of the Advocacy Committee of Family Councils, said he hears from families concerned about the “touch time” their loved ones receive.

He cited a letter he received from a woman whose husband has Alzheimer’s and has lived in a residence for the past five years.

“I can tell he is distressed when I find him sitting in a wet diaper,” Carrothers read. “He starts crying when I appear and is happy when I have cleaned him up, shaved him, and shown him that I have time to care.”

Bill 33, the Time to Care Act, was introduced by NDP MPP France Gelinas in October. If passed, it would amend the Long Term Care

Homes Act to require at least four hours of care daily per resident. This number could be increased by regulation as needs change.

The number of hours of direct care residents currently receive is up for debate.

“We’ve had this discussion with the employer,” said Neiser. “They’re saying 2.9 hours, but their 2.9 hours reflects the cost, so the cost includes your stat times, your vacation times, your sick time.”

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care requires residences to “staff in accordance with changing resident care needs,” but doesn’t demand a “minimum direct care staffing requirement,” spokesperson David Jensen said.

A daily care standard would boost morale for workers and improve residents’ well-being, Neiser argued. “It’s about being able to sit and listen to someone for five or 10 minutes to hear their story — to calm them, to soothe them, to empathize with them.”