Following a damning CBC Marketplace Investigation, provincial NDPs are doubling down on demands that the government provide more funding to long term care homes in Ontario.
The findings
The Marketplace investigation found that three homes in the London area ranked among the top ten in the province for violations. Across the province, it reviewed 10,000 inspection reports and found more than 30,000 “written notices,” or violations of the Long-Term Care Homes Act and Regulations (LTCHA), between 2015 and 2019.
When isolating just the 21 most serious offences, including things like poor oral care, medication mix-ups, and lack of baths, it found that Earls Court Village in London ranked second in the province with 224 violations, Village of Glendale Crossing ranked eighth with 154 violations, and Caressant Care in Woodstock ranked ninth with 151 violations.
According to the investigation, “of the 224 violations [at Earls Court], 51 were repeat offences for everything from problems with how abuse was reported, skin care issues with patients and failure to provide proper hydration.”
The full list for violations via. CBC is as follows:
- Hogarth Riverview Manor (Thunder Bay) 289.
- Earls Court Village (London) 224.
- Midland Gardens Care Community (Scarborough) 212.
- Park Lane Terrace (Paris) 190.
- Bella Senior Care Residences (Niagara Falls) 185.
- Residence Saint-Louis (Ottawa) 168.
- St. Josephs Villa (Dundas) 161.
- Village of Glendale Crossing (London) 154.
- Caressant Care (Woodstock) 151.
- Ceadarwood Village (Simcoe) 151.
Response from local representatives
MPP for London North Centre, Terence Kernaghan called the numbers shocking.
“You know, if you take a look at this scenario, if you were guilty of doing something like this, in your own home, you would be up on charges,” said Kernaghan.
MPP for London North Centre, Terence Kernaghan.
He added that the accountability lies with a government that has allowed for-profit care homes to operate for so long.
“This all dates back to when Mike Harris was first in power,” said Kernaghan. “They scrapped regulations that protected our seniors, such as 2.5 hours of hands on time per patient, per day. And they also opened up the system for private industry so allowing people to make profits off of our seniors.”
Understaffing is also a major issue in long-term care homes, something Kernaghan said desperately needs fixing.
“So when PSW’s are struggling and don’t have enough support, it’s because there is simply not enough money going into the system,” he said.
The NDPs are calling for more government funding to keep long term care homes appropriately staffed in order to meet the needs of residents.
“We have called upon the government to bring all private, for-profit long term care homes back under public ownership, because obviously, they’re not obeying standards, they’re not providing our seniors with the right type of care,” said Kernaghan.
Where do we go from here?
Kernaghan said the ideal vision for long term care in Ontario should be less institutional and more home-like settings.
“What we need to see within our society is…home like atmospheres where people are treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
One example of where this model has been successful is with the Butterfly Home Project in Peel Region. The $100,000 project promotes a community of interaction, engagement and family in Peel long term care homes. Staff dress in regular street clothes, and residents sit together for meals. According to Kernaghan, the project has already paid for itself.
“Because there were fewer injuries at work. Patients with dementia were not having violent outbursts because they’re being treated like human beings,” he explained.
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