Members of the Canadian Union Public Employees (CUPE) along with front-line staff workers from local long-term care homes came together this morning at the South End Library to show their support for a private member's bill that would set a minimum number of hours nursing home residents are entitled to receive.
Bill 33 was introducted by Nickel Belt MPP, and the NDP's health critic, France Gélinas, in October. The bill, a.k.a the Time To Care Act, if passed would mandate at least four hours of daily care for all long-term-care home residents.
The bill was carried at first reading.
CUPE said in a news release the majority of long-term care residents are over 80 years old and have multiple chronic conditions, including dementia, and nearly one in seven has some form of cognitive impairment.
“I know that, even by having just a few minutes more time each day to spend supporting and caring for residents it would make a profound difference on their well-being, on their quality of care, on their safety,” said Jason Harasymchuk, a registered practical nurse in Sudbury who attended Thursday's meeting. And it would make such a difference on the morale of staff who work very hard during the little time they have now to complete tasks and provide care."
CUPE has said there is considerable academic research that shows care levels for residents in nursing homes must increase and that residents with dementia would benefit.
The findings of a Canadian-led international research study, called Promising Practices in Long-Term Care, indicate that better care quality hinges on promoting a care relationship between the resident and caregiver, which requires adequate staff and an appropriate mix of staff. According to the research, good staffing levels promote personal relationships with residents, which is good for morale all around.
The study concludes that, “direct care staffing should be set at a minimum of 4.1 hours per resident each day.” The research also shows that in countries with higher resident care and staffing levels, care quality is better, resident-on-resident violence is lower, as is the use of medications.
