Ontario may not meet LTC goal for hands-on care

Difficulties hiring and retaining enough nurses and personal support workers for longterm-care homes could mean the Ontario government may not meet its target for the amount of handson care residents receive.

There is a “systemic shortage of nurses” across all sectors, according to a briefing document prepared for Long-Term Care Minister Stan Cho when he took over the file in September.

As of this year, there is a need for 13,200 additional nurses and 37,700 PSWs in Ontario, said the document, obtained by The Canadian Press through a freedom-of-information request.

Shortages in long-term care will become more acute amid the government’s push to vastly increase the number of homes and as it tries to boost the amount of direct care residents receive, the document said.

“Anticipated growth in LTC services ... and 30,000 new beds will create a need for thousands more of new positions for nurses and personal support workers (as well as other LTC personnel) over the next decade,” the briefing said.

“This is over and above existing shortages.”

The Progressive Conservative government set a goal in 2021 of having long-term-care residents receive on average four hours of direct care from nurses and PSWs per day by 2025, up from less than three hours in 2018. It put that target in legislation. The government met its first and second interim targets, documents show, with residents receiving an average of three hours and 15 minutes of hands-on care as of March 31, 2023.

Cho’s office was not yet able to say if the March 31, 2024 target of three hours and 42 minutes was met, but briefings he received after taking over the file in September paint a tough picture.

“Ongoing staffing challenges (e.g supply shortages, cross sector competition, etc.) as well as continued pandemic impact and higher occupancy ... present risks to the achievement of targets,” the document said.

The government set a goal in 2021 of having long-termcare residents receive on average four hours of direct care per day by 2025