ONTARIO’S LONG-TERM CARE ANNOUNCEMENT FAILS TO ADDRESS LESSONS FROM COVID-19, LEAVING NURSING HOME WORKERS AND SENIORS EXPOSED TO REPEATED FAILURES
Union concerned that Ontario’s long-term care sector is unprepared for the fall flu season and subsequent waves of COVID-19
Richmond Hill, Ontario — SEIU Healthcare, the union that represents over 60,000 frontline healthcare workers in Ontario, is concerned that today’s announcement does nothing to deliver improved quality care for vulnerable residents, leaving the long-term care sector unprepared for the fall flu season and subsequent waves of COVID-19.
STATEMENT FROM SEIU HEALTHCARE PRESIDENT, SHARLEEN STEWART:
“Expanding an already strained system does nothing to improve quality care.
We don’t have enough frontline workers today to deliver dignified care for vulnerable seniors. What the provincial government announced will do nothing to guarantee that we’ll have enough workers to provide quality care today, let alone in the future.
We’ve been calling on the Ford government to table an urgent plan of action to ensure quality care for residents and security for workers.
The announcement failed to include any money for adequate staff-to-resident ratios. The announcement failed to include full-time jobs for nurses and personal support workers. The announcement failed to include paid sick leave for precariously employed healthcare workers.
Failure to act on those policies, which contributed to death and suffering, will leave our loved ones vulnerable to the coming flu season and subsequent waves of COVID-19.