LTCs. Full blown public inquiry coming

[JBen]

This makes me so sad and cynical.

It’s almost certain there’s going to be a full blown inquiry. Lots of hand wringing, shock and outrage.

Yet, no one, can say they weren’t warned. The issues at LTCs, the future many face, the need for more ( of everything) as Boomers age, and including their inability to save......so they or fewer end up in LTCs...

Decades......

And never worth the time of day........until now....Always there’s been other things and people, deemed more important. Always, other things worth buying your/our votes, always other things, worth throwing money and resources at, and always we the electorate.......didn’t care enough. If we cared more, politicians would too..

So many crocodile tears and outrage......today.But No-One, can say they weren’t warned.

.Few listened.

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/mat...-term-care-now

[gbk]

Shame for sure.What is more concerning,i read similar things from Overseas too.It seems old people in homes are very vulnerable and not truly protected .
This may also contributes big time to the death toll of COVID too.

[line052]

Bob Rae, Mike Harris, Dalton McQuinty, Kathleen Wynne, Doug Ford are all responsible for this, government is the problem, and the inquiry is window dressing and distraction (kept on private run -when government facilities are suffering same fate) to keep the focus off government ownership of rules and regulations which exist for LTC and rules under RHRA and LTCA which governs both privaye and public systems. You are right the warning have been there for 35 yrs, it was always going to happen this way, with the same outcome, because of the close quarters and canned sardine methods we employ in LTC. Condensing sick and frail people is closed boxes will always produce the same results in infection control.

They (Ford, who is left holding the hook), is the patsy who has to bear the brunt. Sadly, the left will use it to tarnish him, Ford will use to blame the private run facilities to keep focus off the government...and people will continue to die.

My wife is a Director Of Care at private facility (Free from COVID), they started weeks before isolation procedures, the government run facilities has always been behind about 3 weeks of private industry.

But really it isn't about public or private runs systems - it about the people, infection control procedures, AND PURE LUCK for each facility. The people working and the care they exercise is are the only stop gap for prevention. But, you could have one of your residents go out for treatment at a hospital and come back with it, as they were not testing before they left the hospital early on, before sending back to homes.

I wrote this, this morning.

The truth about LTC, it is and has been a government created problem. The shift in story is being placed on Private industries to cover up the failure of government created conditions.

Government ensures you dont remember how we got to the point of allowing private home care providers.

Bob Rae, massively increased Ontario's debt, and Mike Harris government took over and tried to balance the budget, by cutting government programs and debt created by Rae.

At the same time in Ontario, RNs won their wage parity case and finally started to be paid what they were actually worth. Faced with years of back pay owned to 1000s of RNs, and a protected work environment, the government started to close LTCs and hospitals (demographics were not there either). As the closures continued, the need for more private facilities increased and regulations were put in place to manage standards of care...which are equal today in both private and public facilities. Both are regulated by RHRA, and LTCA.

Coupled with closures RNs became a huge salary liability, and the late 1980s they created the RPN role with more duties, less pay and started phasing out non university qualified RNs, which eventually only became nurse managers and critical care nurses.

This not Fords fault, the warning have been there for 30 yrs, pandemics in form of influenza happen each year in LTCs and lockdowns are a normal practice in the public and private industry. People die at LTC during influenza outbreaks all the time.
The problem has been government and every government since Bob Rae has failed to address the problem.

Lastly the Military (I am ex military), suffers none of the provincial pressure that front line staff face in provincial healthcare. However, you could cant debate direct fact reporting, but you also have to temper military fact based reporting with complete lack of knowledge of provincial operations and rules and ask the military which always has the budget and needs to delivery the healthcare to its members. To them it must look horrible when they are used to having best of everything. It isn't that way in public sector.

Government is always the problem, and now they are just shifting focus to private run facilities to take the heat of them the owners and regulators who set the conditions.

[fishermccann]

Line052, much of what you say is true. I worked 32 years in LTC. All in municipally run , not for profit homes and I can attest to the validity of many of your assertions. The writing has been on the wall for decades. In my department , Programs and Services, LTC, City of Toronto were we had 32 employees, after the Harris cuts we went down to 18, and we were playing catch up ever since. When I started in 1981, the staff in a home was 80% full time, 20% part time. When I left in 2013 the ratio had changed to 40% full time and 60% part time.I bet it's even greater now. Why? To save money.The wonderful people that I worked with over the years in LTC, always did the best they could, with what they were given to work with. Except for the owners and shareholders of private firms, people do not work, or get into LTC, to become wealthy, for most, it truly is a 'calling'.

[JBen]

Pretty much lineo.

The one caveat I’d add, is that the electorate is equally at fault. All politicians, all. Including yourself, do, what you deem important, a priority, based on the electorate and what “we” deem is, or isn’t important. And even if your party had these things at the very top of your priorities....If “we” don’t care, you don’t get elected.....

In real terms.
Bob Rae blew the wad, trashed the house because he promised the moon, won by accident, and tried to deliver.

MH the great evil one everyone on the left blames for everything inherited a mess (nowhere near as bad as today’s). Did he screw a few things up? Yes he did.
I’d love to see anyone try to fix what Fords inherited without problems down the road.....

Again, ultimately it’s the electorates fault. And no one can say they weren’t warned.

About any of it, up to and including wanton spending, deficits, and debt, what the great champions of the less fortunate (PS Unions) fought for.....or didn’t.....and don’t...They too, have been warned about this, warmed about the strains and needs as Boomers age, and more, and more, and more will need LTCs..

and including people inability to save for their golden years, so that they don’t end up in LTCs to begin with.

But hey, teachers, all day daycare, green energy, rapid transit, anything and everything has, for 30 years been more important.....

Period, end of debate. Few, have listened....And The buck stops with the electorate.

[terrym]

It’s easy to point the finger at politicians. The reality is they aren’t necessarily the ones who are responsible. The multiple levels of civil service who are supposed to provide oversight and timely inspections of these facilities have jobs for life and don’t need to be re-elected. Why were these facilities allowed to deteriorate like they did? Ford’s job isn’t to do the boots on the ground work. Why aren’t we making those who are paid very well to monitor standards accountable?

[Woodsman]

This release from last September might show some of the reasons for todays situation.
https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.c...d-care-levels/

[fishermccann]

Good read Woodsman. Astute. Just some of the reasons. Some also could be fixed by paying the PSW that looks after your loved one, more an hour, than you pay the guy who cuts your lawn.

[JBen]

He will have to answer for that Woodsman. But that is just the most recent, obvious, surface level item a full blown inquiry will look at, ask questions.

I definitely do not agree with all he’s done..trying to find savings...the fact remains name one thing he has tried, certain people, certain groups haven’t fought tooth and nail....

So what would you do, any politician do but cut the low hanging fruit no one cares about, or fights for....

And wouldn’t a fair question be. Where was that organization from 2000-2016 when money was being flushed down the drain, spent on others, and other things left right and center.

There’s only so much money, and only so many tax payers, and the fact is. Many....many...are ending up in LTCs, because......
sure let’s just a few billion in paper money that doesn’t exist and hire more PSWs, give them a decent living wage, so they themselves don’t end up....

/slams back down to earth with the reality and gravity of the situation.

No one, can say “you weren’t warned”. We’ve ( my industry) been harping about it since the 90s. When it became obvious millions of boomers were in trouble. And LTCs themselves. FFS even Don Drummond tried to warn people..

Just google “Ontario, long term care, baby boomers”. Decades worth of warnings..

Is it fair to criticize Ford for the smallest and latest? Sure it is, and he will have to answer for that. But.........

[Woodsman]

How about the Ontario governments inspection process for LTC Homes?
From a proactive & reactionary system to almost completely a reactionary system.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/senio...ions-1.5532585