Latest news with #inspectionreports
CTV News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Concern over plan to remove LTC inspection reports from public access
Two Sudbury-area MPPS are concerned about a provincial plan to reduce public access to inspection reports conducted in the province's LTC homes. Two Sudbury-area MPPS are concerned about a provincial plan to reduce public access to inspection reports conducted in the province's LTC homes. After inspection orders in December, Extendicare Countryside can now take on new residents. But if a new government proposal takes effect, those inspection reports won't be publicly available three years from now. Bill 46, Protect Ontario by Cutting Red Tape Act, would remove public access to inspection reports issued to long-term care homes after three years. LTC inspection reports After inspection orders in December, Extendicare Countryside can now take on new residents. But if a new government proposal takes effect, those inspection reports won't be publicly available three years from now. (File) That's concerning for Sudbury MPP Jame West and Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas, who say the records provide accountability. 'If you're making informed decisions and you see that there were issues three years ago and there has been none for three years, well then you can make an informed decision,' West said. 'But if you see that there's one or two (issues) in the past three years, but you have no idea what happened before that, maybe there's a trend or maybe there's just the odd issue that came up more recently. We think that people should have a more informed decision-making ability.' West used the example of the serious problems in long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, which would be among the records that would be removed. Should be improving care 'Instead of improving long-term care, they're just making it look better by removing past records,' he said. In response to a request, the Ministry of Long-Term Care sent this statement to CTV News: 'The government is ensuring that individuals and their loved ones have access to relevant and accurate information that reflects each long-term care home's current performance. The new three-year timeframe aligns with inspection industry practices, such as inspections for child-care settings, as well as with the compliance history timeframe considered by inspections.' The Ministry also said that 'reports outside the three-year time period will continue to be maintained by the ministry and will be available upon request.' As for Extendicare Countryside, after making changes, the ministry said it can resume accepting new admissions. However, staff must work with Ontario Health AtHome on a gradual plan that meets the needs of all residents. Can welcome new residents In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson for Extendicare said Countryside facility has the capacity to welcome more than 30 new residents. 'Over the past six months, Countryside has invested significant time and effort in improvement,' the email said. 'We have openly shared progress through ongoing communication to families and residents and continue to work cooperatively with the family and resident councils. The home has worked hard to address ministry feedback, and their efforts have resulted in all compliance orders against the home being resolved.' Extendicare said it remains focused on its action plan and long-term, sustained improvements, including filling all open roles, including nurses and personal support workers at Extendicare Countryside, with permanent team members. It has also launched extensive re-education for team members on core clinical practices. Leaders have strengthened engagement with the Family Council and Resident Council and its increased support and staffing for cleaning within the home. 'We will continue to work in partnership with the Ministry, our Resident and Family Councils, and our team members to ensure Countryside is a place where residents are proud to call home and team members are proud to work,' the statement said.
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Ontario bill limiting access to long-term care home inspection reports will protect bad actors: advocate
Social Sharing The Ontario government is proposing restricting public access to long-term care (LTC) home inspection reports — a move one advocate says will protect bad actors in the sector. Currently, all LTC home inspection reports are posted online. But under the proposal, contained within a bill tabled last week by Minister of Red Tape Reduction Andrea Khanjin, the reports would be published for three years before being removed from the website. "It's very clear here that it's to shield the bad reputations of repeated bad actors in long-term care from having their records of non-compliance being made visible," said Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos, a professor at Ontario Tech University and long-term care advocate, in an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Tuesday. Over 30,000 reports are currently available online, dating back over 15 years, including for homes that are no longer operational, according to the Ministry of Long-Term Care. The ministry will continue maintaining reports outside the three-year time period, and reports will be available "upon request," spokesperson Mark Nesbitt said in an email on Monday. "By setting a three-year publication period for reports, the government is ensuring the public has access to relevant and accurate information that reflects each long-term care home's current performance," he said. The time frame is similar to other inspection industry practices, such as for child-care settings, he said. But Stamatopoulos called the comparison a false equivalency. Children don't live in daycares, and the history of deaths, noncompliance and abuse in Ontario LTC homes demands a full public record, she said. From March 2020 to April 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 4,335 residents died in Ontario's LTC homes, according to a September 2023 report from the province's ombudsman. WATCH | 5 years ago, military report detailed abuse, neglect in Ontario's long-term care homes: Military report puts spotlight on crisis in Ontario's long-term care homes 5 years ago Duration 3:09 The Canadian Armed Forces released a report in May 2020 detailing disturbing conditions observed by its members in five Ontario LTC homes, including accounts of elder abuse and an accusation that improper care led to the choking death of a resident. The soldiers were called in to help after some of the province's long-term care facilities were overrun by COVID-19 outbreaks. If the government does implement the three-year time frame for online access to inspection reports, Stamatopoulos says by 2026, "the worst of the worst times in long-term care is just going to be gone." "And then eventually, it will all be gone." Move will add more red tape, advocate says Families, journalists and researchers all rely on the publicly available reports to demonstrate long-standing issues in the sector and support their calls for systemic change, she said. If the reports are removed, she said it will no longer be possible to do historical analysis and examine trends overtime. Stamatopoulos said she doubts the government will provide reports upon request in a timely manner. Currently, she said she is waiting for the Ministry of Long-Term Care to get back to her on questions she sent them about inspection reports four months ago. Requiring additional resources to field individual requests for reports will be inefficient and add more red tape when the data is already publicly available, she said. "Why would you go out of your way to take these reports down and then have to field these requests on a one-to-one basis if you don't have anything to hide, or if you're not trying to protect bad actors who have long histories of non-compliance?" she said.
