OTTAWA – Today Ontario’s Long-Term Care Commission released their second interim report detailing recommendations that the government and Minister of Long-Term Care must implement immediately to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the province’s long-term care homes during the second wave.
The report addressed a number of concerns including lack of leadership in homes, performance indicators to be measured and posted publicly, reinstate annual Resident Quality Inspections (RQIs) in every home. The report also renewed calls for the government to help establish a plan to move residents out of crowded 4-bed ward rooms.
“The Commission’s second interim report shows that the Premier and the Minister have no plan to protect residents living in long-term care during the second wave. It’s clear that there is a lack of leadership and accountability from this government when it comes to our seniors,” said Liberal Health critic John Fraser.
“The Premier, Minister and Ministry are in a state of paralysis and sadly, it’s causing avoidable suffering and death.”
Since September 14, 417 long-term care residents have died and 112 homes are currently in outbreak.
“The Minister continues to quote numbers and investment figures with a lot of zeroes attached yet clearly the persistent problems that have been highlighted through the course of this pandemic are still not being addressed.”
The report goes on to say that “we are concerned about the apparent lack of enforcement and follow-up verification of compliance with orders issued by the ministry.”
This report comes after reports that the Commission is waiting on thousands of documents from the Ministry of Long-Term Care despite repeated requests and have said that this delay is negating them from completing their final report which looks at the government’s response to the first wave of COVID-19 in homes.
“It’s incredible to me that the Minister claims to value transparency and says she wants to the bottom of this yet continues to withhold documents from a Commission that she appointed,” said Fraser.