The Ontario government has announced its commitment to ensure long-term care residents get an average of four hours of direct care each day — a standard that advocates have been pushing for, for approximately 10 years.
But the timeline as to when this goal will be achieved is not a win for long-term care, Doris Grinspun, chief executive of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), said.
In the announcement on Nov. 2, made ahead of the Ontario budget release on Nov. 5, Premier Doug Ford said this new standard means an increase of more that 31 per cent in direct care, as long-term care residents currently receive an average of 2.75 hours daily.
Long-term care minister Merrilee Fullerton said this will result in hiring tens of thousands of new personal support workers and nurses to support the increase in care, with a staffing strategy expected to be released in December.
“I made a commitment to our long-term care residents, their families and their caregivers,” Ford said. “I promised we would fix the broken system. I promised we would give our residents the care and dignity they deserve.”
The province has set a target of 2024-2025 to fully implement this plan.
Grinspun said she initially got her hopes up when she heard about the announcement today, but after learning about the timeline for both the staffing strategy and the plan implementation, she is disappointed.
“For people that don’t really understand this much, it may seem fantastic, but I have seen this movie before,” she said, referring to commitments made by the former provincial government, under Kathleen Wynne.
“This is outrageous for residents, for their families and this is a slap in the face to the PSW community that has been begging, begging, begging (for them) to act.”
Grinspun said she could understand if the government agreed to partially increase the hours of care this year, and complete the four-hour goal next year, but that the current timeline just won’t cut it.
On Oct. 29, , which calls for amendments to the Long-Term Care Act, including increasing staffing levels to ensure a minimum of four hours of hands-on care per resident per day, passed second reading.
“The only thing to do now is to push for Bill 13 and make sure that moves to royal assent,” Grinspun said. “At least then it will be law.”
Making sure that residents receive higher levels of care is a primary concern for a number of seniors advocates, as Ontarians continue through the second wave of COVID-19.
“This is a policy goal that has been fought for for close to a decade in the province and it’s coming to a crucial period in the legislature,” Candace Rennick, secretary-treasurer of Ontario’s Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) that represents workers in long-term care across the province, said in an earlier interview with Torstar. “That would be a good step towards enhancing the quality of life for seniors.”