Horwath comments on LTC staff shortage and deprofessionalization

Horwath comments on LTC staff shortage and deprofessionalization

ANREA HORWATH

By Mila Astorga-Garcia
The Philippine Reporter

The Philippine Reporter contacted Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath’s office for a brief interview, following up on one of her key suggestions on what the Ontario government would have done in terms of solving the understaffed situation in  long term care homes in the province, that have contributed to the crisis now going on in these facilities.

Horwath responded by phone to two related questions regarding staffing, as follows.

The Philippine Reporter: You had stated that the Ontario government should add 10,000 more personal support workers into Long Term Care Homes.  How do you propose this to happen, considering issues regarding safety matters during COVID-19 outbreaks; lack of PPEs and other resources in these homes; lack of training in prevention  of transmission and control; low pay with no benefits; overwhelming workloads?

Andres Horwath (Response as summarized from author’s notes): Sometime in the summer, the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia issued a call to hire 10,000 PSWs for Quebec and 11,000 personal support workers (PSW) for British Columbia.  Ontario did not make a similar call.  If the government is prepared to fill up the need for PSWs, people would respond to the call and would get into the field since it is a good job.  However, the government should be willing to pay them fairly.  PSWs are underpaid that some of them work part-time in Tim Horton’s or in retail establishments just to get by financially, so they are hesitant to get back to the field, especially if there is not enough protection in a high-risk work environment.  The government has not taken steps towards encouraging more people to get back into the PSW field.

TPR: Sometime ago, there was a call for foreign doctors and nurses and others in the health field even if not certified to fill in for the lack of staff in nursing homes and other health facilities to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.  Advocates while considering this call as a welcome opportunity for health professionals to work in their fields, were critical to the idea of using these professionals without the recognition and the compensation due them.  What is your comment on this issue being raised which involves deprofessionalization and an unfair use of education, skills and training of these professionals, many of them members of the FiIipino community?

AH: “It is unbelievable that we continue to see the lack of commitment from the two levels of governments on the non-recognition of credentials of people who come from all over the world with skills, training, experiences and gifts to offer, and an ability to contribute to our needs…it is such an inhumane and disrespectful way to treat people, a grave injustice to this long-standing practice that all Canadians, all Ontarians should be ashamed of.  Despite all that studying and reports, this issue of non-recognition still remains because of the lack of commitment to solve it fairly. “It is a travesty to the individuals treated that way, a travesty for the community, for Ontarians, for all Canadians.”

Horwath noted that in the apartment building she rents in Toronto so she could be near her work, as her residence is in Hamilton, the conscierge is a medical doctor, a full-fledged practicing professional in the country where he came from.  She mentioned this to stress her point.