TORONTO -- The Ontario government is investing more than $77 million into technologies that would strengthen medication safety at long-term care homes.
The three-year program is the result of a 2019 public inquiry into the safety of residents in long-term care spurred by the murder of eight elderly patients by nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer.
A two-year probe into Wettlaufer’s case identified systemic failures in long-term care and laid out 91 recommendations directed at the provincial government, long-term care facilities and nursing regulators.
Among the recommendations was a call for the provincial government to allow each of Ontario’s long-term care facilities to apply for a grant of $50,000 to $200,000 to aide in the security and safety of medication.
“Our government puts the safety and well-being of long-term care residents at the heart of everything we do," Ontario Minister of Long Term Care Merrilee Fullerton said in a statement issued Monday.
"Often, long-term care residents have complex medication needs. Technology has been shown to be effective at enhancing safety at all stages, from prescription to ongoing monitoring."
The Medication Safety Technology program allows all eligible homes to receive funding based on the number of licensed or approved beds, or a base amount of $50,000 over three years if that number is greater. The money can be used to purchase “medication management technologies” such as those that help in the handling of prescription information, drug supply security, and administration of medication.
“Homes will have the flexibility to choose from a list of eligible technologies,” officials said in a news release. “Alternatively, they will also be able to submit a request to the Ministry of Long-Term Care for technologies or interventions that are not on the ministry's list but meet the program's objectives.”
The government said that specific program details will be provided separately to long-term care homes.
The 2019 report on long-term care safety also called for more funding in order to provide proper staffing levels and more investigations into the deaths of residents.
With files from the Canadian Press
