Long-term care facilities must be properly staffed, funded to ...

TORONTO, April 18 /CNW/ - The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
(MOHLTC) must set minimum staffing levels and standards at Ontario's long-term
care facilities to ensure the safety and quality of care of the most
vulnerable seniors in our province, the Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) has
told the Casa Verde inquest.
    The eight-week inquest, which wrapped up last week, is looking into the
bludgeoning deaths of two residents at the Casa Verde Health Centre on June 9,
2001 by a cognitively impaired resident who was admitted earlier that day. ONA
had standing at the inquest and presented a series of recommendations to the
five-member jury before they began deliberations.
    "ONA is pleased the jury listened to our recommendations and acknowledged
the need for change at the province's long-term care facilities," said ONA
President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN. "Throughout this inquest, ONA has
maintained that systemic changes and service enhancements require a big
injection of funding for current facilities, the establishment of new
facilities and specialty units, staff and training. The province must
reinstate funding for specialized training for registered nursing staff and
other health care professionals to ensure the safety of all residents and
employees."

    Specifically, ONA recommends:
    -  Community care access centres must ensure clients are placed in the
       most appropriate long-term care facility.
    -  Specialized facilities and units are needed to manage cognitively
       impaired residents. Witnesses working at long-term care facilities
       told the inquest that the placement of aggressive residents in such
       facilities had become "normal."
    -  The MOHLTC must fund and set standards requiring long-term care
       facilities to increase staffing levels to, on average, no less than
       .59 registered nurse hours per resident per day and 3.06 hours per
       resident per day of overall nursing and personal care. Evidence at the
       inquest showed that in Ontario, long-term care facilities are staffed
       such that residents receive only a few minutes of direct RN care per
       day, estimated to be the lowest in the country. These levels are not
       even close to meeting the needs of the complex and often physically
       aggressive residents who are now placed in long-term care facilities.
    -  Data regarding staffing levels must be made public.
    -  Registered nurse staffing levels must be sufficient to allow
       registered nurses in long-term care facilities to adhere to our
       standards of practice as set out by our regulatory body, the College
       of Nurses of Ontario. Specifically, registered nurses must have
       sufficient time to collaborate with other members of the health care
       team, supervise, teach and delegate to unregulated workers.
    -  The MOHLTC must take immediate steps to enhance working conditions in
       long-term care facilities to attract and retain registered nurses to
       provide the skilled care required.

    "What happened at Casa Verde is a terrible tragedy, but, unfortunately,
not an isolated one," added Haslam-Stroud. "The inquest heard that there have
been 11 homicides at long-term care facilities since 1999 in Ontario, and more
than 3,000 incidents of aggression reported to the ministry. This is a major
problem that experts predict will get worse, given current demographics and
the fact that one in three residents at long-term care facilities have
cognitive impairment. To ensure this never happens again, we must be ready to
manage aggressive behaviors in the same way we plan for the management of
other known health problems. And evidence at the inquest indicated that the
management of aggressive behaviours requires registered nurses.
    "We believe that if implemented, the recommendations from ONA and the
jury will go a long way to ensuring that the seniors of this province receive
the care they need."

    ONA is the union representing 50,000 registered nurses and allied health
professionals across Ontario working in hospitals, long-term care facilities,
public health, community health agencies and industry.

For More Information:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2005/18/c6825.html