Ombudsman's investigation long overdue: Public invited to register complaints

An investigation by Ombudsman André Marin into the province’s monitoring of long term care is long overdue, says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

Last week OPSEU joined with unions ONA, SEIU and CUPE in demanding a return to enforceable staffing standards at the province’s nursing homes as a first step to fixing the deplorable state of care.

In response to the union press conference, Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted the province had to do better – a statement Marin acknowledged in his announcement.

The Special Ombudsman Response Team (SORT) will focus on the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and is expected to take about six months.

This spring Marin received more than 100 complaints about long term care homes -- despite not having the jurisdiction to directly investigate – a situation OPSEU believes should be changed.

Meanwhile, OPSEU members are encouraged to come forward with their experiences with long term care and/or the province’s monitoring system. Complaints can be filed by calling 1-800-263-1830 or online at the Ombudsman’s web site: www.ombudsman.on.ca.

OPSEU continues to seek a nursing home regulation that would establish a minimum average of 3.5 hours of daily care per resident.