Government should take over long-term care homes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/12/2020 (907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The NDP recently introduced a motion in the legislature urging the government to immediately take over management of Revera’s long-term care homes such as Maples and Parkview, which I spoke on.

Long-term care homes across Manitoba have been overwhelmed by the second wave of the pandemic but the outbreaks at Revera’s for-profit facilities have been the worst by far.

It is no surprise that the worst outbreaks have been at Revera-owned and operated care homes as their staff, and residents and their loved ones all cited concerns with living conditions and understaffing even before the pandemic.

Unfortunately, owing to the pandemic, where there were cracks there are now holes.

Understaffing continues to be a major issue, which has resulted in patient care falling below what is safe and acceptable.

Seeing what was happening with long-term care homes across the country, you would think that the Pallister government would have prepared a plan to deal with a potential outbreak over the summer, when our cases were low. Instead, it waited until outbreaks were announced and case numbers and deaths soared to create a plan.

However, this plan is clearly not working — and that’s why we called upon the government to take over management of Revera care homes. Taking over operations would allow the government to ensure the same standards of care and COVID protocols are met across the province.

The NDP is also calling on the health minister to:

• Mandate monthly in-person inspections at all PCHs and make the results public;
• Conduct asymptomatic testing of residents; 
• Appoint a dedicated staff person to support staff by providing PPE training and monitoring; 
• Train and hire more nurses to ensure residents get the best quality care; and appoint a senior’s advocate to provide recommendations and hold the government accountable for their treatment of seniors.

Unfortunately, the government voted against the NDP motion. More than ever, Manitobans deserve a government that will do whatever it takes to keep Manitobans safe — yet this government is failing to take critical action.

To read my full speech on this issue, please see pages 907 to 909: www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/hansard/42nd_3rd/hansardpdf/18b.pdf

For questions, comments or concerns I can be reached by email at malaya.marcelino@yourmanitoba.ca or by phone at 204-788-0800.