Time to set national standards for long-term care in Canada: report

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Thousands of people dying during the COVID-19 pandemic in our country’s long-term care facilities has been described as a national shame.

Now, a new report argues we need to ensure something like this never happens again.

There’s no other way of describing what we’ve seen during this pandemic than depressing, in the assessment of Pat Armstrong, a co-author of a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

“I’m depressed at the horrible conditions that have been exposed, and of course the deaths of staff and residents that have happened, as a result, and what’s happened to families in the process,” says Armstrong.

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“At the same time, I’m optimistic that we have become aware of this issue. We have started to believe that maybe we need federal leadership in some of these areas, and I’m just hoping that the pressure and the exposure means that we’re actually going to do something now, and do it quickly, and not wait for yet more studies.”

She’s calling for the federal government to lead the way in setting national standards, despite the objections of some provinces, given health care is an area of provincial jurisdiction.

“We should not get bound up in jurisdictional issues,” says Armstrong. “We have to make sure that we have standards that are enforced through inspections and through verified data, and that the provinces and territories get money on meeting those standards. That, I think, is going to be critical.”

The CCPA’s report, titled A Higher Standard: Setting national standards for long-term and continuing care, makes these recommendations:

• Ensure that everyone has access to care based on need, without financial barriers, and with minimum wait times for admission to a long-term care home;
• Establish and enforce minimum staffing levels in these facilities-accompanied by decent working conditions and recruitment strategies to attract and retain staff;
• Ensure a minimum of 70 per cent of staff work full-time in a single site and that all staff (including part-time) have benefits and pay based on equity principles;
• Set in place plans to address infections, ranging from adequate stock of PPE to methods for effective laundry treatment to adequate room size and ventilation;
• Require public accountability through public reporting of consistent, verified data and enforcement of penalties for failure to comply with standards;
• Invest significant federal funds into developing a universal seniors care system, with stringent accountability mechanisms attached.

The report also comes as B.C.’s seniors advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, calls for rapid testing of all staff at these facilities.

Saying rapid testing can produce results within a half hour, Mackenzie notes this process could help catch infected staff who aren’t experiencing symptoms and who could unknowingly spread COVID-19.

Mackenzie says she understands that rapid tests aren’t as sensitive as lab tests, but argues they can play a role.

The BC Care Providers Association has also called for rapid testing at long-term care facilities.

-With files from The Canadian Press