Ford government to launch independent commission into Ontario long-term care facilities

The association that represents long-term care homes in Ontario has come out in support of an independent commission into the long-term care system beginning in September.

The Minister of Long-Term Care, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, issued a statement today, saying, "Over the next several months, our government will be finalizing details of the commission including terms of reference, membership, leadership of the commission and reporting timelines."

"We have been clear the long-term system in Ontario is broken. We must act quickly and decisively, and that is why an independent non-partisan commission is the best way to conduct a thorough and expedited review."

Though the Ontario Long Term Care Association said it would address issues with the provincial models for care homes, the severe threat of COVID-19 means that personal protective equipment (PPE) is needed immediately.

"Public inquiries are important, but they take years," said Donna Duncan, CEO of OLTCA.

"We need to focus on immediate solutions to protect our residents and the front-line heroes who care for them—then thoughtfully address the long-standing systemic issues COVID-19 has highlighted."

Duncan mentioned that staffing levels were already stretched thin before the pandemic, but the lack of PPE has exacerbated the issue by exposing workers to the contagion.

She also urged the province to continue prioritzing testing in long-term care facilties and allowing for staffing flexibility through emergency orders.

This request by the OLTCA—which amounts to around 70 percent of the provinces care homes—comes as there have been 391 reported cases of Covid-19 and 33 fatalities in Ontario.

The daily growth of the infected is 1.8 percent, compared to an average growth rate of 1.6 percent in the three days prior.

And there is now, at the time of this writing, 22,313 confirmed cases, including 1,858 fatalities.

Long-term cares homes have beared the brunt of the pandemic, with the Ministry of Long-Term Care reporting 1,360 resident deaths related to the coronavirus.

"Our gov has been clear: the system is broken. Long-term care has endured years of neglect," Fullerton said on Twitter last week.

"Once we emerge from this pandemic, we will get to the bottom of this."

But the government has enacted several measures to support the sector since the outbreak, including the issuing of an emergency order that would temporarily replace management at some long-term care facilities having trouble containing the outbreaks.

The order allows for the province to intervene if a facility experiences a high number of infection or fatalities, or if it is facing a shortage of staff.

The province had previously temporarily banned staff from working sat more than one facility due to the fear that they might spread the virus between them.