There is a call to end the practice of having three and four residents in one room in Ontario long-term care homes as it increases risk of COVID infection -19
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says Ontario Premier Doug Ford should already have taken action to reduce the number of residents in single rooms
« In order to save money, the Ford government did not prepare long-term care homes for the second wave, » Horwath said
« This involves leaving people in four-bed rooms, where the virus easily spreads from person to person If I was Prime Minister I would have started investing in solutions and protections months ago Instead, nursing homes are now in yet another crisis without enough infection control in place, ”Horwath said in a press release
Horwath called on the Conservative government to create a plan, provide funding and a schedule to move residents to safer rooms, one or two residents
The statement says that on Thursday last week, 65 nursing homes were battling new outbreaks of COVID-19 On October 6 at a legislative committee meeting, Minister Merrilee Fullerton and her staff acknowledged that services to several beds were still in place, but said they were « monitoring » the situation and had not set a date by which all residents must be safe and protected, the statement said
The NDP quoted QP Briefing (a paid Toronto Star newsletter) in which it was revealed that the province had banned moving newly admitted residents to multi-bed rooms, but allowed residents already living in rooms with several beds to stay there
« So far 1,900 people have died from COVID-19 in long-term care facilities in Ontario, » said Horwath She added that Ontario must take action to protect more residents from LTC homes by using more PPE (personal protective equipment), hiring more staff, using better infection control, more testing and a better plan to quarantine sick residents
Last week Horwath announced his pledge to overhaul the home and long-term care system, starting in 2022 The NDP plan includes building 50,000 spaces in a new model with smaller homes that feel right at home and the ban on all for-profit corporations within eight years – a record investment to build a system that helps maintain the quality of life of aging Ontarians
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Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
News from the world – CA – Horwath wants to end three and four bed long-term care rooms
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
