STRATFORD – As part of Ontario’s $23.3-million investment to support the creation of 873 additional personal support workers, Perth-Wellington long-term care homes will receive an extra $310,933 for 22,830 more hours of care.
The funding, announced last week by Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson, will increase the average hours of direct daily care paid for, per resident, to 3.26 hours this year for nursing, personal care, and programming and support services.
“Today’s announcement means the most frail and vulnerable members of our community will live with greater dignity and comfort,” said Wilkinson.
“I am delighted that our government is ensuring additional personal support workers will be able to provide increased bedside care to residents and help to improve access to quality health care in 14 area long-term homes.”
This is just the first round of funding to add 2,500 new personal support worker positions and 2,000 more nurses in long-term care homes over the next four years, as announced in the 2008 provincial budget.
The additional frontline staff is expected to increase the average paid hours of direct daily care per resident in long-term care homes to 3.5 hours by 2011.
As a result, long-term care home residents will benefit from more hands-on care, such as personal hygiene care, help with transferring into chairs, vehicles or beds, as well as dressing and undressing.
“Access to quality health care, when and where it is needed, continues to be a focus for this government, because it’s what matters most to the people of Ontario,” said David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.
“This latest investment will contribute to strengthening staff capacity in the long-term care sector, which ultimately means more bedside care for residents.”
For the first time, the government will work with the Ontario Health Quality Council to publicly report on the quality of care in the province’s long-term care homes.
Ontario is consulting on regulations under the new Long-Term Care Homes Act, which will introduce new measures to improve care and resident safety.
More than half of the long-term care homes in the province, representing 35,000 older long-term care beds, will be upgraded over the next ten years.
