Sweeping changes urged for Ontario’s nursing home industry

A task force has recommended sweeping changes to Ontario’s nursing home industry, including a “zero tolerance” policy on abuse and neglect and more education for staff.

The Long-Term Care Task Force on Resident Care and Safety released its list of 18 recommendations Wednesday.

“I believe the implementation of this plan will raise awareness of the issues of abuse and neglect and lead to meaningful change,” said Dr. Gail Donner, chair of the task force.

Currently, there are approximately 77,000 seniors in Ontario facilities. According to the report, there were 3,216 incidents of abuse or neglect in 2011 alone.

Click here to see the full report.

The first item on the report recommended that “all long-term care homes in Ontario will declare the prevention of abuse and neglect and zero tolerance as their number one priority over the next year and a top priority in years to follow.”

That policy, the report said, should protect whistle-blowers who fear reprisal, and will also train residents how to recognize abuse and neglect.

The report identified the “zero tolerance” policy as one that could be implemented by long-term care facilities, but other initiatives required input from the Ministry of Health.

The task force called on the ministry to provide more coaching for staff, create specialized homes for residents with complex needs and increase staffing.

“I want to thank our long-term care sector partners, and the thousands of individuals and groups who responded to the task force, for coming together to create this important report,” health minister Deb Matthews said.

“I look forward to reviewing the report, and to working together to ensure our long-term care residents receive high quality, dignified care from compassionate staff.”

While the Ontario Nurses’ Association supported the task force, the group noted that few of the recommendations were new.

“This is not new, and the fix for many of the issues is not as simple as adding more personal support workers to the sector. We need to see more registered nurses who can evaluate and plan the care of these residents,” ONA president Linda Haslam-Stroud said.

The task force was created in response to a Toronto Star investigation into elder abuse. Almost 2,000 individuals and groups responded to the task force’s survey.

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