Housekeeping needs to be addressed in next budget
Friday March 7, 2008 -- Camille Jensen
Increased funding for housekeeping and laundry would allow homes to increase their staff, offer night service and improve infection control, says Sarah Ferguson-McLaren.

Administrator at Forest Hill, Ferguson-McLaren is hoping to raise awareness about the importance of support staff in time for the upcoming budget announcement. Funding for support staff has been neglected in the past and Ferguson-McLaren says it needs to be addressed in the upcoming provincial budget.

With the current funding, Ferguson-McLaren says the number of housekeeping staff at the Lindsay long-term care home is inadequate. The home has five floors, 160 residents and only five housekeepers per day.

“It amazes me what they are able to get done,” says Ferguson-McLaren. “But realistically they cannot continue to do it without more assistance.”

The funding also does not leave any room for night services. At Forest Hill housekeepers work until 4 p.m. and afterwards the home is left without cleaners.

Having night staff would help decrease the workload for day staff who often spend their time working to get caught up from the previous evenings events. Because funding has not increased, Ferguson-McLaren says housekeeping staff have to work extremely hard to get everything achieved in a day.

She believes increased housekeeping would also offer the best defence against infection control. More funding would allow the home to increase its deep cleaning services from once a month to every two weeks and would help keep the environment protected from infectious diseases. 

Forest Hill and other OMNI homes recently participated in a postcard campaign pushing for a $513-million injection towards long-term care funding in the upcoming provincial budget.

Sponsored by the Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA), the campaign entitled, “Long-Term Care Needs More Than a Band-Aid,” sent postcards to local MPP representatives calling on them to prioritize resident care which has been neglected in previous budgets.

According to the OLTCA, housekeeping, laundry, maintenance and other services have not increased in four years. In fact, the OLTCA says because of inflation the amount of funding for support services has actually decreased over the years.

Ferguson-McLaren says it’s important for homes to continue to raise their voices on the issue and not just during advocacy times.

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