Standard of care

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Nurses and support staff at a Hamilton long-term care home say they can’t give their residents the care they need because they are severely understaffed. Today they held a protest outside St. Joseph’s Villa calling on the provincial government to step up and mandate a minimum amount of hands-on-care each patient gets, because right now no such standard exists.

Kathleen Pasow who’s been living at St. Joseph’s Villa for the last five years has cerebral palsy and scoliosis and requires full time care but she says more often then not she’s got getting what she needs. Kathleen says 12 people live on her floor and only two staff care for all of them.

The union wants Ontario to pass a bill that mandates a minimum of four hours of hands-on-care for each patient. Staff say right now, each patient at St. Joseph’s Villa is only getting about one.

CHCH reached out to St. Joes and the Minister of Health but neither would appear on camera or comment on the unions demands for a standard of daily care. A statement from a spokesperson for the Minister read:
“All licensed long-term care homes are responsible for providing appropriate levels of staffing at all times.”

And one from the President of St. Joseph’s Villa read:
“Ensuring residents get the best care possible is in all of our best interests.”