The leader of the Ontario NDP is again calling for an inquiry into the state of senior care in the province.
Andrea Horwath was in Windsor Thursday to meet with a constituent who is having issues with a local long-term care facility. Joined by local MPPs Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West), Percy Hatfield (Windsor-Tecumseh), and Taras Natyshak (Essex) at Gretzky's constituency office, Horwath renewed her call for the Wynne government to set up an inquiry on long-term care. In the wake of recent incidents, including the case of killer ex-nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, Horwath says the way the system is run is not doing Ontario's seniors any favours.
"We see the heart-wrenching realities that exist in long-term care. That is not acceptable," says Horwath. "The people of Ontario and our most vulnerable seniors, and most vulnerable residents of our province deserve much, much better than that."
Horwath is in the midst of touring the province, meeting with constituents and members of Ontario's NDP caucus to discuss the need for an inquiry. Some issues that have been discussed include long waiting lists to get into facilities, a shortage in qualified staff, and allegations of physical, psychological and sexual abuse.
Cheri Hernandez is a retired nurse and professor of nursing who has a mother in a local care institution. She says she has raised all kinds of issues with staff and administration and nothing has been done to address them.
"In the four-and-a-half months since she's been in this so-called caring institution, Mom has been physically and psychologically abused," Hernandez alleges. "Even sexually abused, if we define this as unwanted touching."
Hernandez says there is an environment at this facility which sees seniors having to wait long periods of time to have basic needs addressed, such as nourishment, pain management and toileting. She says her mother is suffering in this kind of environment.
"Every part of her existence is micro-managed for staff convenience or preference," says Hernandez. "This results in her discomfort, distress, disengagement, and despair."
Horwath says it's unfortunate that it took the Wettlaufer case to draw attention to an issue that should have been addressed sooner.
Wettlaufer, a 50-year-old former nurse, pleaded guilty last month to murdering eight seniors in her care at nursing homes in London and Woodstock.
"That incident has forced the people of Ontario and frankly, the government, to stand up and take notice of the crisis that's occurring in long-term care," says Horwath.
Part of the request for an inquiry involves the Long Term Care Homes Act. The Ontario NDP says the act does not include any provision regarding a minimum front-line staff-to-patient ratio at long-term facilities. Horwath says if the Wynne Liberals do not act on this now, an inquiry would take place within 100 days if the NDP forms the next Ontario government in 2018.
While Horwath makes her pitch for an inquiry across the province, the Ontario Provincial Police has passed along a hotline number that people can call to report instances of abuse and neglect in older adults. The OPP says the number is operated by the Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (ONPEA) and the Assaulted Women's Help Line, and will provide information and referrals. The 24/7 hotline is 1-866-299-1011.