Most able-bodied people couldn't get out of bed, bathe,
brush their teeth and dress in 10 minutes.
But that's what frail seniors living in long-term care homes
across the province are expected to do, with the help of aides.
Staff at these facilities have just 10 minutes to get each
resident ready for their day.
"These are all the things we do for ourselves in longer than
10 minutes on a daily basis, and yet we're expecting our senior
citizens to be rushed through that process," says James
Foreman, administrator of Extendicare Falconbridge in Sudbury.
"It's the niceties that are missing. Residents would be much
better served if they were able to spend a little bit of
quality time with the staff."
The only solution is for the provincial government to
provide funding to increase personal care in long-term care
facilities by 20 minutes a day, bringing the average up to
three hours a day, he says.
The move would cost the government more than $306 million
over the next two years.
Foreman's facility, along with other long-term care
facilities belonging to the Ontario Long-Term Care Association
(OLTCA), has been circulating a petition asking the government
to increase personal care time.
So far, workers, family members and residents at Extendicare
Falconbridge have collected 460 signatures, says Foreman.
Their petition, along with petitions from Extendicare York,
Pioneer Manor, Finlandia Nursing Home and the Elizabeth Centre,
were presented to Nickel Belt MPP Shelley Martel Friday
afternoon.
Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci was also supposed to attend the
event, which took place at Finlandia, but couldn't  make
it because of a prior commitment.
"George Smitherman has said he will try to fix long-term
care. Well, he's certainly repaired it, but it's not yet
fixed," Foreman says.
"That's what the government has to hear - that while there
has been improvements and we're very thankful, we need to
continue on with improvements to long-term care."
Martel says there are currently no government rules forcing
facilities to provide a certain amount of care per resident
each day.
When her party, the NDP, was in power, they made 2.25 hours
of care mandatory across Ontario. Under the Conservatives, this
rule was scrapped, she says. Now the Liberals are evading their
election promise to introduce regulations surrounding personal
care time.
Studies have shown that there isn't enough staff to properly
care for people living in long-term care facilities, says
Martel.
"Ultimately, it's the residents that suffer because there isn't enough staff to meet the care that they need."
