The new enforcement measures are part of a wide-ranging overhaul of the province’s rules governing nursing homes
Nursing homes in Ontario would face fines of up to $1-million and be forced to hand over control to a government-appointed supervisor, under proposed legislation aimed at holding the sector accountable for the quality of care it provides to the vulnerable elderly.
“The Fixing Long-Term Care Act is a comprehensive rewrite of the rules and the law that will ensure that we protect our seniors and improve the quality of care and quality of life,” Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips said in an interview. The Canadian Armed Forces provided the first set of outside eyes on what what was happening inside the province’s long-term care sector after the federal government deployed the military to several homes last year. In a report released in May of 2020, the military chronicled horrific conditions in five homes, ranging from poor infection-control practices to abuse of residents.
In the proposed legislation, corporations convicted of a first offence would be fined $500,000 and $1-million for a second offence. Individuals convicted of a first offence would be fined $200,000 and $400,000 for a second offence. These individuals would also be barred from working in a long-term care home.The proposed legislation also would allow the government to appoint a supervisor to take over management control of a home.
Mr. Phillips has telegraphed much of what’s in the proposed legislation through a series of announcements in recent days. On Tuesday, he said the government plans to strengthen his ministry’s oversight of homes by hiring 193 new inspectors. The plan is to have 344 inspectors in place by next September, roughly one for every two of the province’s 626 nursing homes.
The government’s own data shows that two out of three people on the wait list for long-term care select a not-for-profit or municipal home as their first choice, Ms. Levin said. ”It’s simple. The province should respect the choice Ontario families make every day.”
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