Advocates, families of long-term care residents sounding the alarm over plans to award beds to private operators
Doris Wai feels that a blind eye was turned after her 98-year-old grandmother, Wai Lo Lin, was among more than 80 residents who died from Covid-19 during an outbreak at the Tendercare Living Centre in Scarborough in Dec. 2020.
Wai says her grandmother died just eight days after testing positive for the virus. Her family is still waiting for transparency and for the long-term care home’s private operator to be held accountable.
"We want to know what happened, what did they try to do to create a safe space for the residents who were not infected, but more so they didn't let us know what was happening,” Wai said.
The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) released a report on Monday detailing its research into the province's bed allocation plan.
The province plans to allocate 30,000 beds over the next decade and the OHC's report found a majority — more than 16,000 beds — are set aside for private operators.
"There is no reason that private equity firms and private investors should be operating Ontario's long-term care homes and taking care of the elderly and the vulnerable," executive director of OHC, Natalie Mehra, said during a virtual press conference.
The Coalition is calling on the Ford government to transition away from for-profit homes, arguing that many of the private operators have seen the highest infection and death rates in their homes, as well many having been found neglecting residents and not complying with protocols including infection prevention and control.
"We were promised significant change and instead, we're getting another 30 years, unless we stop it, of licenses paid for by public money to the same for-profit companies that have been responsible for so much of the trauma suffered by residents and their families," Mehra said.
More than 4,000 long-term care residents have died during the COVID-19 pandemic. For-profit homes had nearly twice as many residents infected with the virus and 78 per cent more deaths compared with non-profit homes, according to scientists advising the government on the pandemic.
Last month, Ford government tabled its plan to overhaul the system that included measures it believes would address the issues brought to the forefront during the pandemic.
"Long-term care home operators have a duty to provide a safe and healthy environment for residents. To fix long-term care, we have introduced legislation that will overhaul inspections and hold long-term care home licensees to account, to ensure residents are safe and well cared for," Ministry Spokesperson Mark Nesbitt said.
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, more than 18,000 beds are being allocated to for-profit operators, more than 13,000 to non-profit and more than 3,200 beds to homes operated by municipalities.
The ministry says more than 1,200 beds still have to be decided on.
Advocates and families believe there is still time for the province to reverse course and reallocate beds to not-for-profit homes.
"Nobody profits from these for-profit-care homes except for shareholders — they're not good at taking care of their residents and families," Wai said.
"The government should do the right thing and not support these homes."
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.