Wynne government’s crisis in long-term care to blame for Bethammi Nursing home conditions, not staff

Ontario New Democrat candidates Judith Monteith-Farrell (Thunder Bay-Atikokan) and Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay-Superior North), released the following statement responding to Liberal MPP Bill Mauro’s comments on the Bethammi Nursing Home inspection findings:

 

“We were heartbroken to learn that residents at the Bethammi Nursing Home were left unbathed for weeks, without enough incontinence care, and not getting the care they needed.

 

When our seniors need long-term care, they deserve to know they’ll not only be safe, but that they’ll be treated with dignity and receive the highest quality of care.

 

The Wynne government created a crisis in Ontario’s long-term care system and instead of taking responsibility, local Liberal MPP and minister Bill Mauro, tried to shift blame from the Wynne government to the hardworking staff of the facility instead, staff who, already, are stretched thin as a result of years of chronic under-funding to long-term care facilities.

 

It’s no way to treat our Thunder Bay seniors, or the people who work so hard to care for them.

 

It’s critical that family members of long-term care residents are heard and it’s so important that staff have the supports they need to do their jobs. They work so hard, day in and day out, but with continued cuts to our long-term care system, it’s no wonder they feel defeated.

 

Our communities deserve leadership that will offer seniors and their families change for the better.  Andrea Horwath and the NDP’s plan to fix the long-term care crisis includes updating the Long-Term Care Residents’ Bill of Rights, the creation of 40,000 more long-term care beds, including 15,000 new beds over the next five years, while ensuring every resident is offered a minimum of four hours of hands-on care per day. Our plan also includes launching a province-wide ‘find-and-fix’ inquiry into systemic problems in our long-term care system.”

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