THUNDER BAY – Andrea Horwath believes there is a province-wide crisis in long-term care.
The Ontario NDP leader wrapped up her Northwestern Ontario on Wednesday with a visit to Thunder Bay, which included a news conference outside Hogarth Riverview Manor.
Horwath said there are 800 people in the city on wait lists to enter long-term care facilities, with many of those spending an extended amount of time before getting a bed.
“Some folks are waiting over 1,000 days to be placed in long-term care,” Horwath said.
“Nobody should have to wait over three years to get a placement in long-term care when they need it. Nobody should have to worry about that their loved one is not getting the supports, the care they need to be able to live in dignity in their aging years.”
Horwath said she has heard stories from across the province of long-term care residents going 18 hours between contact with support workers, missing meals and not receiving assistance to get to the bathroom.
With Premier Kathleen Wynne and her government committing to launching a public inquiry into the deaths of eight seniors in long-term care homes in Woodstock, Ont. at the hands of nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, Horwath said the province is missing an opportunity for a detailed review of the entire system.
“We need to have a broader look. We need to look at funding levels, we need to look at staffing levels, we need to look at safety of patients and workers in long-term care,” Horwath said.
“There is no doubt there are many, many problems in long-term care. There’s no doubt we need to have a serious look at what’s happening. The bottom line is we know seniors are suffering right now in long-term care. We know there are some realities around shortage in funding so we would take a look at that right away and what are some of the interim steps we can take to try to alleviate the pressure.”
During her tour of Northwestern Ontario, Horwath said she has heard of many health care challenges. From the Dryden hospital going through the past weekend without having any anesthesia and a chronic shortage of health care professionals in Kenora, the level of care in the region would not be considered acceptable in Southern Ontario, she said.
In Thunder Bay, the lack of long-term care beds shifts burden onto the regional hospital.
“We see people who are stuck in hospital that really should be in long-term care but there’s no beds available. That creates a situation where there’s no ability to get people out of hospitals so when there are people coming in through emergency there’s no bed to put them in,” Horwath said.
“That creates huge pressure in emergency wards, huge pressure on ambulance off-loading. It really does push the system into crisis all the way through.”
