Patients First: A plan to combat pressures in Ontario’s long term care system

Residents and front-line staff in Ontario’s long term care homes urgently need the assistance of the Ontario government. Our grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, sisters, mothers, brothers, fathers, and friends are living and working in conditions that do not allow for proper care that is essential for our society’s most vulnerable members.

For residents, healthcare outcomes are worsening, dignity is diminishing, and incidents of resident-to-resident violence are increasing. Meanwhile, staff are run off their feet facing increasingly complex care, challenging resident behaviours, shrinking resources, and stagnant wages.

A multi-year increase in funding of four percent allocated to the nursing and personal care (NPC) envelope is urgently required. This increase will safeguard the health and dignity of our aging residents by providing the proper time for care. It will also ensure that the long term care sector can attract and retain the capable and compassionate professionals it needs.

Additional improvements in both the quality of care and its efficiency can also be gained by improving regulations surrounding the extensive documentation performed by front-line staff. Eliminating redundant documentation and requiring homes to use more efficient documentation systems can increase the consistency of documentation while also allowing staff more time to provide primary care. 

Click the brief below to explore in greater detail the situation in Ontario and the solutions CLAC is recommending.