NDP critic for health and long-term care France Gélinas is urging the ombudsman to investigate the McGuinty Liberals’ handling of repeated horror stories in long-term care homes.
“The McGuinty Liberals’ failure to improve conditions in long-term care homes has resulted in repeated horror stories from Ontarians across the province," said Gélinas. "After learning that 75 per cent of long-term care homes are not meeting government standards, the only way for Ontarians to regain confidence is for the ombudsman to investigate how the McGuinty Liberals are handling the long-term care crisis.”
Gélinas introduced a bill to give the ombudsman jurisdiction to investigate hospitals and long-term care homes. To date, the McGuinty Liberals have refused to allow ombudsman oversight.
However, since ombudsman André Marin’s office receives many serious complaints about long-term care every year that cannot be investigated, he has now decided to look into whether the McGuinty Liberals are properly holding long-term care homes to account.
“Under the McGuinty Liberals’ watch, Ontarians have seen no improvements in long-term care," said Gélinas. "I look forward to seeing the ombudsman investigate how the McGuinty Liberals are handling the long-term care file. Perhaps then Ontarians will finally see a real revolution in long-term care.”
