Wawa-news.com You can't hear the 'big picture'!
NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West) will table a motion in the Legislature on Monday, urging the Ford government to immediately implement a COVID-19 Essential Caregiver Strategy that recognizes essential caregivers as more than just visitors, and gives residents in long-term care, groups homes and all congregate care settings the right to fully access their essential caregivers and support persons while giving congregate settings the resources they need to safely implement this.
“The stories I have heard from families during this pandemic are heartbreaking. They’ve told me that the limited access to their loved ones through phone calls or window visits has been painful, and for some, simply not feasible. It’s been four months, and some haven’t been able to see their loved ones at all,” said Gretzky. “We need action today.”
Gretzky’s motion also states that any future policies regarding essential caregivers must be made in consultation with residents, patients, families, experts, and workers.
Advocacy groups and experts including the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, and the National Institute on Ageing, have all released detailed plans in recent weeks, urging the safe return of essential caregivers and support persons back into congregate care settings.
“Essential caregivers are family members and support persons who perform a crucial role as partners in care and support. Yet the Ford government has created ‘visitation’ policies that exclude them, and are confusing, inconsistent and, in reality, difficult to roll out. This is clearly because residents, patients, families, experts, and staff are not at the table to share their vital insight and feedback.”
Gretzky was joined at a press conference today by family caregiving researcher and expert Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos, and two essential caregivers, Pamela Libralesso and Susan Mills, who have been denied meaningful, appropriate access to their family members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Libralesso has not seen her 14 year old son who lives in a group home for children with disabilities in over four months, and Mills has not been able to provide care and support for her elderly mother, a resident of a long-term care home.
“As the pandemic continues, and as we prepare for a potential second wave, Premier Doug Ford can no longer ignore or overlook the health and happiness of residents in congregate care settings, and their rights to have access to their essential caregivers. The time to act is now. I am urging the Ford government to support this motion and respect the rights of individuals and their essential caregivers that have been denied for far too long.”
