Ontario Ranked Last in Meeting Needs of
Long Term Care Residents
TORONTO (June 1, 2001) -- An independent
review of long term care in 10 jurisdictions (three Canadian provinces, four
U.S. states, and three countries in Europe) ranks Ontario last in meeting the
needs of residents in nursing homes and homes for the aged.
Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the study
concludes that long-term care residents in Ontario receive the least amount of
nursing and therapy services -- behind Mississippi, South Dakota, Michigan,
Maine, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands.
According to the report being released today:
*
Ontario LTC residents receive the least amount of registered nursing care
(less than 15 minutes a day) and the least amount of nursing and personal care
(a total of about 2 hours a day)
*
Ontario LTC residents receive less than 2 hours of support from program
staff (activity, social work, therapy, etc.), well below other jurisdictions
*
Ontario LTC residents have the highest proportion of both mental health
disturbances and problems, yet less than 6 per cent receive any professional
intervention
*
more than two thirds of Ontario LTC residents have restricted range of
motion, yet less than one third of these receive any exercises
*
only 10 per cent of Ontario LTC residents with rehabilitation potential
actually receive physical therapy
This low level of service in
Ontario is compounded by the fact LTC residents in the province are among the
oldest (average 82 years) and are at the upper ranges in terms of prevalence of
dementia and Alzheimer Disease, depression, cognitive impairment, and physical
disability due to arthritis and stroke compared to the other jurisdictions.
The study was carried out for the
Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors (OANHSS) and
the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA), which together represent the
full spectrum of long term care facilities, and was funded by the Ontario
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
"The study demonstrates the
need for increased operating funding. Government support has not kept pace with
need, are we are falling further and further behind in caring for the seniors
and frail elderly of this province," said Donna Rubin, CEO of OANHSS.
Even though 20,000 new LTC beds
are being built in the province, this does not address the underlying problem.
"We can have all the beds in the world. But without adequate operating
funding, long term care residents in Ontario will remain underserved,"
Rubin noted.
OANHSS and OLTCA have been
calling for an increase in the per diem paid by the province from $60 (one of
the lowest rates in the country) to $85 over the next three years. "Without
this investment, we will be forced to turn away those with higher levels of
need. We will find ourselves with empty long-term care beds and overcrowded
hospitals and emergency rooms," Rubin said.
- 30 -
|
Ontario Association of Non-Profit Homes & Services for Seniors
7050 Weston Road, Suite 700, Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 8G7
(P) 905-851-8821
(F) 905-851-0744
Comments or questions about our site?
Contact
Debbie Humphreys
at 905-851-8821 ext. 233
Media Enquiries
© Copyright 2008 OANHSS
OANHSS members include not-for-profit providers of long term care, services and
housing for seniors in Ontario.
Members include municipal and charitable long term care homes, non-profit
nursing homes,
seniors' housing projects and community
service agencies.