Ford government was warned in January about potential impact of COVID-19 in long-term care
Oct 5, 2020
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government was urged to prepare the province’s long-term care homes for COVID-19 as early as January, three months before the government implemented an action plan to slow the spread of the virus.
The revelation came during
testimony by the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA) to the commission of inquiry, which is investigating how the pandemic was able to ravage through the province’s nursing homes, taking more than 1,900 lives.
During the Sept. 30 appearance at the commission, OLTCA CEO Donna Duncan testified that her “first communication in writing” to the Ford government came around Jan. 25, after seeing news reports from European countries which were struggling to contain the virus.
“We were concerned about our readiness,” Duncan told the three-member panel led by Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco.
Duncan told the panel that long-term care homes were already “facing a perfect storm” as COVID-19 crept into Ontario thanks to chronic staffing shortages, at-capacity homes with four-bed rooms and funding cuts by the Ford government which led to in-facility pharmacies withdrawing their personnel.
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On Apr. 15, Premier Doug Ford announced an action plan for the province’s 630 long-term care homes which focused on aggressive testing, outbreak management and ensuring homes were prioritized for personal protective equipment.
While the plan helped to immediately stabilize the situation in the hardest-hit homes, the damage to the province’s most vulnerable population had already been done.
“Out of all the deaths in long-term care to date … half of them occurred before April 15th,” Duncan told the commission. “Where we saw the worst of this, it really was in that period before the action plan.”
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government was urged to prepare the province’s long-term care homes for COVID-19 as early as January, three months before the government implemented an action plan to slow the spread of the virus.
toronto.ctvnews.ca