Some inspectors did evaluations over the phone because they were afraid of picking up COVID-19, the premier said.
Some of the inspectors were carrying out inspections by phone in April because they were afraid of contracting the novel coronavirus, said the premier, who has been facing fierce criticism about the province’s handling of the outbreak in seniors homes where nearly 1,400 residents have died.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union did not immediately provide comment, but in a letter to the premier in April, union president Warren “Smokey” Thomas raised concerns about the poor quality of care for residents in some long-term care homes as well as the high risk for inspectors in those facilities.
In his letter, which the premier’s office made public Thursday, Thomas also outlined concerns he said inspectors had been hearing from front-line staff for some time. The government said Wednesday it was taking over management of four of the five homes and would conduct “extremely rigorous” inspections of those facilities as well as random spot checks at homes across the province.of some of the province’s for-profit homes, asking them to put people ahead of the bottom line or his government would hold them accountable.
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