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(73) Motion to improve accountability for seniors in care - Private Member's Motion - YouTube
QUEEN’S PARK – The Government has turned their backs on the promised “iron ring” around long-term care and voted down a plan that would have provided protection and accountability to long-term care in the province.
Government MPPs in Durham region, Lorne Coe, Laurie Scott, and David Piccini joined the Ford government on Monday to strike down a motion introduced by Oshawa Official Opposition MPP Jennifer French that called on the government to commit to a strategy to improve care and accountability for seniors in long-term care and retirement homes.
“The current government has refused to listen to families who have suffered the loss of their loved ones in long-term care,” said French. “I have stood alongside grieving families across Durham region after the terrible tragedy suffered at Orchard Villa Long-Term Care Home during COVID-19. They have been calling for change to protect others living in long-term care. No one feels there has been any accountability for families or seniors.”
MPP French’s plan would have ensured the safety of seniors in care with the following priorities:
· Involve family councils in quality of care
· Incorporate individualized care plans that meet residents’ individual needs
· Protect provincial transfer funds from penalties so that the for-profit folks have to find it elsewhere
· Make sure inspections will at least meet the criteria of the cancelled Resident Quality Inspections (RQIs)
“The current Government has shown staggering indifference to the suffering of seniors and their families in Durham,” said French. “While families have been calling for accountability in long-term care, this government is still considering giving a 30 year license extension and more beds to Orchard Villa even after 78 seniors died there during the initial wave of COVID-19.
“Families and seniors deserve so much better than this. The Official Opposition will revamp long-term care by taking out the corporate profits and focus all resources on caring for seniors and residents.”
The text of MPP Jennifer French’s motion reads as follows:
"That, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should commit to a strategy to improve accountability and care for aging Ontarians in long-term care and retirement homes, including but not limited to: involving family councils in care decisions; incorporating individualized care plans that consider the cognitive, behavioural, cultural, psychological, nutritional and physical needs of residents; ensuring that payments of fines and penalties incurred by for-profit providers cannot come from funds transferred to agencies by the province; and ensure that the proactive inspection criteria will at least meet the criteria of the cancelled Resident Quality Inspections (RQI) and clearly outline the protocols for such inspections."
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