Ontario Health Coalition representatives at an event in Huntsville say more beds, more staff, more care needed to address long-term care concerns in Ontario
Peter Cross, the Bracebridge contact for the Ontario Health Coalition, says the Canada Health Act deserves protection to ensure all Canadians, including those in Muskoka, have equal access to quality public health care, including long-term care.
Devorah Goldberg (left) and Pam Brown say more needs to be done in Ontario to support quality of life in long-term care, during an Ontario Health Coalition presentation in Huntsville.
MUSKOKA — A look of concern fell over Margaret Grant’s face.
“Our government is not doing enough,” said the Huntsville resident.
Grant and her husband — both older adults with concerns about access to long-term care — had attended the Ontario Health Coalition’s release of its report, Situation Critical: Planning, Access, Levels of Care and Violence in Ontario’s Long-Term Care, in Huntsville on Jan. 28.
Devorah Goldberg, coalition research and campaign director, said research on the report started after her organization heard from family members with loved ones who had been harmed by fellow long-term care residents.
The coalition, she said, wanted to determine whether the incidents, which sometimes resulted in death, were the result of systemic issues within long-term care.
“These are supposed to be safe places,” said Goldberg. “Bad things happen when there isn’t enough supervision and care.”
The coalition’s report noted the closure of hospital beds, a shortage of long-term care beds, the rise in complexity of long-term care resident physical and behavioural needs, and inadequate long-term care staffing levels as some of the reasons for concern. The coalition argued a failure to sufficiently fund and plan, on a provincial level, for the long-term care needs of Ontario’s residents was to blame.
The report noted 27 known resident-to-resident homicides in Ontario’s long-term care homes over the most recently measured five-year period. Four, according to the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, were reported from 2012 to 2016 within the Central East Region, which included Muskoka, York and Durham.
The coalition recommended increased provincial funding for long-term care, a four-hour minimum of daily hands-on nursing and personal support per resident, more public and non-profit long-term care beds, increased hospital capacity for complex continuing care, more long-term care staff and the addition of behavioural support teams.
Provincially, there were roughly 80,000 people in long-term care with more than 33,000 people on wait lists.
Wait lists in Muskoka had reached 1,029 people in December. Average wait times here ranged from roughly eight months to five years, depending on the home and room type.
There were four long-term care homes in Muskoka with a combined 510 beds.
Norm Barrette, commissioner of health services for the District of Muskoka, later told this newspaper that the themes in the report were consistent with long-standing concerns about resource limitations in the provincial health-care system, especially for care related to older adults.
But he emphasized that long-term care homes had to meet rigid legislative requirements, including those on risk and incident reporting, while also undergoing regular ministry inspections.
“It’s really important that families recognize just how diligent long-term care homes must be in Ontario,” he said.
And Barrette noted the district-managed Pines Long-Term Care Home in Bracebridge, as many other homes, had taken steps to address safety and care as resident complexity increased, and staff continue to strive to provide safe, quality care in welcoming and homelike environments.
“Generally, we’re anticipating and delivering on the needs of residents, who are more and more complex, medically, and with responsive behaviours,” he said.
He noted that keeping residents engaged through programs such as music or pet therapy, and connected to what’s familiar to them, through recreational programs and more, were part of daily care. Barrette and the home continued to explore and invest in innovative solutions, while also facilitating medical and other health supports, to create a comfortable and safe environment.
He commented, however, that the biggest challenge was increasing one-on-one care — the need for more staff had to be balanced with funding challenges.
He added that families considering long-term care could review the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s public inspection and incident reporting information on each long-term care facility at publicreporting.ltchomes.net.
And he also recommended families meet with not only a home’s administrator, but also its volunteer co-ordinator, before choosing preferred homes.
“A home with a very active volunteer base is a really strong sign of a long-term care home’s reputation,” he said.
And Hayley Chazan, press secretary for the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, also told this newspaper the health and safety of all Ontarians was a top priority for the provincial government and that attention was paid to quality long-term care.
“All staff providing direct care to residents must receive annual training in behaviour management, mental health, including caring for persons with dementia, and abuse recognition and prevention,” said Chazan. “The ministry conducts an immediate inspection when they receive information that there is serious harm, or significant risk of serious harm, to a resident.”
But she noted the health-care system was flawed and a review was underway.
“We will continue to listen to patients, families and front line providers as we develop our long-term transformational health strategy,” she said.
Written by: Alison Brownlee/Metroland – Jan. 28, 2019