O'Leary-Inverness MLA Robert Henderson Today Issued the Following Statement About Recently Released Standards for Long-Term Care Homes:
"Seniors and their families on PEI – and across Canada – deserve to know that the care provided in long-term care homes meet a level of quality where residents can live in dignity and safety.
"That’s why the standards released this week by the Health Standards Organization and the Canadian Standards Association are an important start in helping to ensure quality care for our seniors.
"This vital work was undertaken after the tragic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian residents in long-term care facilities and their families.
"Here on PEI, we have heard from both residents and workers in long-term care homes who had serious concerns about issues impacting the level of care. The government said it would conduct a review of our system, but we have yet to hear about the results of that review. We’ve asked the government during Question Period for an update on the review and why so many on the committee resigned.
"Last year, an internal review by government provided very little substantive information on the pressures faced by staff during the peak of the pandemic. That’s why I’ve had little confidence in this government’s ability to manage the system so it is responsive to the needs of our workers to deliver quality care.
"Approximately 30 per cent of our total population will be over the age of 65 in the next five years. It’s crucial that the work needs to be done now to build up our system.
Even though the standards are voluntary, it is now up to the provincial government to review them and produce a plan on how it will implement measures to ensure quality care centred around the needs of residents, and supported and delivered by a strong workforce."
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