September 21st, 2020

Ford leaves seniors in long-term care vulnerable with no second-wave action plan

Horwath urges premier to act now on languishing expert recommendations

QUEEN’S PARK — With COVID-19 cases on the rise and a second-wave plan from the government months overdue, Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath on Monday demanded to know why Doug Ford has made no changes in vulnerable long-term care homes, where staffing levels have plunged to all-time lows.

A pair of Globe and Mail reports reveal that the Ford government has been sitting on expert recommendations for boosting staffing and improving infection prevention and control in long-term care homes since June – taking no action. Now COVID-19 has come roaring back, again claiming lives in long-term care homes, while the staffing levels that were dangerously low during the first wave of COVID-19 have hit rock bottom.

“No one wants to relive the nightmare that thousands of Ontario families with loved ones in long-term care endured this past spring,” said Horwath. “We must do everything we can to spare other families the pain of mourning their parent or grandparent, and the anguish of going through weeks or months of separation during an outbreak, not knowing whether their loved one is getting the help they need with the basics, let alone protection from the virus.

“Every day that Doug Ford drags his heels on better protecting seniors in long-term care is another day that he puts more vulnerable people at risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19. Mr. Ford chose to spend the summer touring around the province campaigning, and chose not to staff up and beef up protections in long-term care, leaving residents as vulnerable as ever.”

The NDP has been calling for immediate fixes to long-term care for months now, like giving personal support workers better pay and full-time hours, and hiring many, many more of them. Horwath said it’s long past time that these measures were implemented as part of a second wave plan — something Ford promised months ago but chose not to produce before outbreaks again found their way into 23 long-term care homes.

“If I were premier right now, we’d have a second wave plan in place, and we’d be following that plan by hiring thousands of personal support workers, ramping up testing, bringing inspections back and more.”