InnisfilToday received the following letter from reader Pekka Reinio on the need to make sure seniors are getting what they deserve.
In Barrie, tragedy has struck Roberta Place LTC home. Early on, a doctor described the conditions inside as a “war zone.” The provincial government downplayed the risk and rejected military assistance. Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital took over operations on Jan. 16 while COVID continued unrelentingly, killing 53 residents.
Through December, hospitals have taken over 19 care homes in Ontario, 16 of them have been for-profit institutions. More than 3/4 of all Canadian deaths during the pandemic have taken place in LTC homes which is 25% higher than the average of all other OECD countries.
In Ontario, deaths in for-profit homes are 78% higher than in public, non-profit homes.
Hardly surprising, the LTC industry overall is very poorly regulated. Canada has no national standards for old-age care. Provinces set standards and have a terrible record of enforcement. Infractions by LTC homes receive a slap on the wrist, that is if they ever even get inspected. In 2019, only 9 of 626 LTC homes in Ontario had full inspections.
LTC homes in Canada have a lower ratio of staff to residents than the OECD average. Staff at LTC homes see a high turnover because they receive low wages, no paid sick days, and few opportunities for full time employment which also results in staff having to work in numerous homes, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Many LTC homes are poorly designed. Some seniors still live in four-person wards with shared toilets and little room for isolating sick patients. Four person wards are no longer built, but many older existing facilities continue to get their licenses renewed. 20,000 Canadians right now are living in four person wards.
Meanwhile, the three largest publicly traded long-term care operators such as Chartwell paid out $171 million in dividends to shareholders in the first three quarters of 2020.
We must transition away from for-profit LTC. We need more inspections, unannounced, with serious penalties and fines for non-compliance. We need National standards. We need to increase spending on LTC homes to hire more staff and ensure infections prevention protocols are enforced. Right now, Canada spends less than most OECD countries on LTC. The provincial and federal governments need to address that financial shortfall.
And this problem isn’t going away. We are a greying country as one quarter of all Canadians will be 65 or older by 2041.
This is our wake-up call.
We must provide seniors with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
Pekka Reinio