Editorial:
Encouraging signs from Queen’s Park
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
The provincial Liberal government has sent out two positive signals this week that seniors are a priority.

The announcement of a $191-million boost in annual funding for long-term care to hire more staff is a very encouraging sign the government is listening to those who know long-term care best; the residents, their families, staff and volunteers.

The long-term care sector sent a loud and clear message to the government in April with the results of the Ontario Long Term Care Association’s 5 Top Priorities campaign. More staff and additional funding were overwhelmingly the top priorities in 2004 in balloting by more than 22,000 people.

Those most directly affected by government decisions on long-term care know that additional funding is needed to enhance the quality of life of residents by putting more staff on the floor to provide care.

Many OMNI staff members have said the same in OMNIway interviews. They thrive in their jobs when they are able to spend more one-on-one time with residents but the current funding formula, with the lowest per-capita support among Canada’s provinces for residents in long-term care, makes that difficult.

They will be pleased to hear the new funding is for hiring at least 600 new nurses as well as 1,400 frontline staff positions including personal support workers, dieticians, activities co-ordinators, therapists, nurse practitioners and others.

We welcome Health Minister George Smitherman’s trumpeted “revolution” in long term care with announcements of strengthened accountability and enforcement.

However, accountability must be a two-way street with the government also fulfilling its responsibilities to consistently apply clearly defined standards, promptly inform homes where there are problems and act where abuse has occurred.

According to a government background paper, the strategy includes mandatory reporting of suspected abuse, expanding whistleblower protection to all long-term care homes and separating the roles of compliance and inspection, with the creation of a new position of inspector.

Targeted surprise visits to homes with poor track records makes sense as does the application of a “gold standard” designation to homes with good records for three years. Establishing a third-party advocate or ombudsman position as a watchdog for families and residents regarding inspection and compliance will also help to ensure that long-term care residents are provided with the quality of care they need and deserve.

The government plans to implement a community culture by mandating family councils and resident councils and reinstating the policy of allowing couples to live together, even if they need different levels of care.

The paper calls for the launching of a public website within the next four months with a profile of every home in Ontario, including current bed numbers, age of home, ownership, number of private, semi-private and basic accommodation, the number, type and rates of complaints and a satisfaction survey.

The second positive signal sent out is the government’s repeal of an ill-advised decision to retroactively claw back 2003 property tax reimbursement for homes. In this case, the government has corrected a mistake. It is hoped that it will continue on this course by quickly repealing the decision to make an even larger cut in the 2004 property tax reimbursement to home operators.

There are still some questions to be answered regarding both of these initiatives but they do indicate this government is headed in the right direction towards providing a higher standard of long-term care in Ontario.