The Ford government announced it is launching what it calls one of the largest recruitment and training drives in the province’s history to deliver improved care for seniors in Ontario’s long-term care homes.
Posted Dec 18, 2020, 05:43AM EST
The Ford government announced it is launching what it calls one of the largest recruitment and training drives in the province’s history to deliver improved care for seniors in Ontario’s long-term care homes.
On Thursday, Premier Doug Ford and Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care, said the province is investing up to $1.9 billion annually by 2024 and 2025 to create more than 27,000 new positions for personal support workers, registered nurses, and registered practical nurses in long-term care.
“We want more people working in long-term care to love what they do and thrive in their careers,” said Premier Ford.
“That’s why our new staffing plan will pursue innovative partnerships, like the one between George Brown College and the Rekai Centres, and more training opportunities for future nurses, personal support workers, and health care staff, so they can take pride in what they do and provide the care our loved ones need and deserve.”
Premier Doug Ford announces a new staffing plan for long-term care homes in Ontario. He calls it one of the largest recruitment and training efforts in the history of Canada. @680NEWS pic.twitter.com/mQN73DrQ9x
— Mark Douglas (@DouglasCityNews) December 17, 2020
Included as part of the plan, Ontario will accelerate and expand education and training in order to train the tens of thousands of new staff that will be required. This includes four hours of personal care per day for each resident.
They also announced the goal to improve working conditions for staff by coordinating with long-term care employers to increase full-time employment.
In late November, the Ford government received an open letter from over 4,000 loved ones with family members in long-term care homes across Ontario demanding immediate action from the province’s top officials to improve the quality of homes.
Families have said they want Bill-195 completely abolished, which allows long-term care homes to deploy untrained staff to any position they find reasonable, along with a complete phase-out of for-profit LTC’s.
Advocacy groups have accused the Ford government of introducing legislation that would make it significantly harder for residents and families to hold long-term care homes liable for failing to protect them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the province’s latest weekly epidemiological update, Ontario recorded a drop in new COVID-19 cases among residents at long-term care homes.
