The Northern Ontario Party, in a news release this morning, says a public inquiry into the mass murders in Ontario nursing homes is unnecessary.
See: Ontario to call public inquiry into Elizabeth Wettlaufer nursing home murders
"A Public Inquiry into this matter will not give us any new answers than what we already have and have known for many years regarding the quality of care being received by residents at long-term care facilities. Public inquiries take a long time, are expensive and the inquiry’s recommendations are not always implemented," says leader Trevor Holliday.
"The Northern Ontario Party would like to start problem-solving and fixing the current problems in the system now rather than waiting several years after an inquiry has been called."
Holliday says for way too long, residents of these long-term care facilities have been "treated like products and not as human beings who’s lives matter."
He claims the current, Long Term Care System is chronically underfunded, with high residents to staff ratios and unrealistic time demands placed on the staff members.
"This has led to fewer qualified applicants getting into the field, especially when LTC facilities place a preference for hiring part-time staff members. Why would anyone want to obtain a post-secondary diploma in a demanding field, with relatively low wages and high burnout rates to only gain part time hours?"
The release says the Northern Ontario Party believes, instead of calling for a public inquiry, "we need to focus on building a variety of different long-term care homes that fit the needs and the level of support for the various individuals seeking services. We also need to place an appropriate number of full-time staff members in these homes to meet the needs of these individuals and their level of care."
"We need to provide higher wages in all long-term care facilities to attract the highest quality and educated staff members to provide the very best level of care to our most vulnerable populations. We would also like to see the number of staff members increased at all facilities to lessen the stress and workload on the current employees that are working at these centres.
"The Northern Ontario Party would also like to see the implementation of an advocacy group or an advisory board in each facility where residents can complain, express concern over their level of care, or report mistreatment without fear of reprisal. This would be the first line of defense to stop abuse within the system."
