Timeline too long for more hands-on care in long-term care homes, says NDP health critic

Ontario's opposition health critic says the province's move to establisha new standardof care for long-term care homes is the right move, but she says the announcement made by Premier Doug Ford on Monday isn't the good news she was hoping for.

"I have no problem to say thank you when there's good news coming. But in politics you learn to read between the lines,"said FranceGlinas, who is the NDP MPP for the riding of Nickelbelt.

The new standard would see long-term care residents receive an average of four hours of direct care every day the "gold standard in the long-term care sector," said Ford and something Glinas has advocated for. But Glinas says the province's goal to have the new standards in place by 202425istoo slow.

"In five years, who knows which government will be in power by then. Residents need help now. They have a staffing plan, they have the recommendations and have agreed to them. I want action today," Glinas said.

'Report after report'

Glinas has been advocating for an improved standard of care for years, having campaigned on the issue in 2007, when she was first elected to Queen's Park.

Since then, she says, "report after report" has said that a minimum standard of four hours of hands-on care is needed. The most recent being the Ontario Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission.

Glinas said more hands-on care will not only benefit the people living in long-term care homes, it will also help employers recruit personal support workers (PSWs).

"We have in Sudbury hundreds of PSWs who love what they do, who want to work with residents, who are forced to go work anywhere else because they have all you offer them is part time work, poorly paid with no sick days, no benefits, and a work load that nobody can handle, that a human being cannot handle," Glinas said.

She says the improved standard of care will make the work load more manageable, which, along with better pay and benefits, would solve therecruitment problem.

Glinas introduced a bill to increase the standard of care in 2016, which passed second reading in 2017, when the Liberals were in power, however it did not become law. Shetried again last weekand her private member's bill, the Time to Care Act, is again making its way through the legislature.

"I am happy that the premier is saying the right thing and after we reintroduced the bill for second reading last Wednesday. But I will believe it once I see concrete actions that hold every single of the 626 long term care homes to account."