Ontario government plans to double the number of inspectors in long-term care homes

The Ontario government plans to double the number of long-term care home inspectors in the province, as it focuses on enforcement in the wake of deadly COVID-19 outbreaks and scathing reports from families, advocates and Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission.

Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips announced plans on Tuesday to hire 193 new inspections staff by the fall of 2022, with 32 new staff already hired. The additional staff will allow the province to perform proactive inspections in addition to complaints-based, unscheduled inspections, Phillips said.

In addition to hiring more staff, the government wants to increase inspectors’ powers.

“One of the things we will be proposing in the legislature this week is the ability for inspectors to lay outcomes or charges immediately,” said Phillips.

The change would give long-term care inspectors similar authority to labour and environment inspectors. Currently, long-term care inspectors need to apply to their director to lay charges, Phillips said.

In April, the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission released its report highlighting the failure of multiple, successive governments that led to the deadly outbreaks among long-term care residents and staff.

“Many of the challenges that had festered in the long-term care sector for decades – chronic underfunding, severe staffing shortages, outdated infrastructure and poor oversight – contributed to deadly consequences for Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens during the pandemic,” the commissioners wrote.

Phillips says the provincial government is learning from the pandemic, and infection prevention and control will be one focus for the new inspectors.

The province also plans to hire 27,000 new care-home staff over the next four years, as part of the province’s overall plan to fix long-term care, Phillips said.

A temporary wage increase for personal support workers during the pandemic is set to end on Oct. 31. While Premier Doug Ford has previously called keeping the $3 per hour pay bump a “guarantee” his government has yet to announce an extension. Phillips said an announcement on wages will be forthcoming.

More details on the increase in inspectors and the type of inspections they will perform are also expected to be released later this week.