OTTAWA-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government is talking with provinces and territories about new standards for the quality, design and operation of long-term care homes in Canada.
The The Health Standards Organization released updated standards on Tuesday who say residents should receive at least hours of direct care each day.
The standards from the non-profit standards body’s expert panel also say those who work in these residence halls should be paid more.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said he recognizes that long-term care is a provincial jurisdiction, but that all Canadians want care for seniors to be maintained at the highest level possible.
Experts from the non-profit organization said the new standards will only be useful if the government puts them into practice and ensures they are adhered to.
“These standards are only useful if they become the basis for enforcement and accountability measures, not just accreditation measures,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, chair of the technical committee that developed the updated standards. .
The organization released updated guidelines for operating nursing homes in light of the deadly and tragic toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on Canadian residents and their quality of life.
The authors say the ball is now in the government’s court.
“Standards themselves can become the basis for legislation, they could become the basis for policies and other accountability measures,” Sinha said.
Some provinces already require long-term care homes to be accredited to agency standards, while others voluntarily apply for accreditation.
The Health Standards Organization expects approximately 68% of long-term care homes to be accredited on a voluntary or mandatory basis using the updated standards.
But Sinha said accreditation would not be enough without enforcement.
Long-term care as a health service falls under provincial jurisdiction, and there is a patchwork of rules across the country that govern how homes should be designed, operated and maintained.
Generally, it would be up to provincial governments to impose the standards if they so choose, but in the 2021 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to legislate safety in long-term care across the country.
The Liberals doubled that promise as a condition of their confidence and supply deal with the New Democrats, which would see the opposition party back the minority government with key votes in the House of Commons to prevent an election until 2025.
But so far both sides have been silent on what this legislation would entail.
“As long-term care falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, any legislation will be designed to reflect jurisdictional responsibilities,” Health Canada spokeswoman Tammy Jarbeau said in a statement.
The government set aside $3 billion in Budget 2021 to help provinces and territories implement long-term care standards, raise salaries and improve staff-to-patient ratios.
However, it will probably take a lot more money to implement the standards. In 2021, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated it would cost an additional $4.3 billion a year just to increase the number of hours of daily care to the four hours listed by the Health Standards Organization.
Long-term care home employees are also not paid the same as other health care workers.
“If you worked in a long-term care home, you probably make a lot less than you would as a personal support worker, as a nurse, as an occupational therapist, as a social worker working in a state-funded hospital,” says Sinha.
Workforce shortages were a key factor in the devastating situation that unfolded at the start of the pandemic as staff struggled to provide adequate care, and Sinha said the problem persists today. today as nursing homes deal with the outbreaks of COVID-19 and flu.
New guidelines for long-term care home design and infection control practices were developed alongside updated standards of care. They were released last month by CSA Group, formerly known as the Canadian Standards Association.
CSA Group standards cover everything from the number of residents who must share a room to the materials used to construct the building.
CSA Group standards are strictly voluntary at this stage, but the experts who developed these building standards hope they will soon be adopted into regulation.
“Time is running out because there are plans across the country, in various provinces and territories, to build new long-term care homes,” said Alex Mihailidis, who chaired the CSA Group committee.
“Our hope is that they will look at our standard before the shovels are in the ground.”
Mihailidis believes that if the standards were in place when COVID-19 hit in 2020, perhaps less would have fallen through the cracks, but until the new guidelines are in place and enforced, he said that it was still a matter of waiting to see.
“It’s definitely a big step in the right direction,” he said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on January 31, 2023.
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