With the provincial election less than one month away, the Ontario Health Coalition is calling on voters to pressure candidates to make health care a priority.
Executive Director Natalie Mehra said the coalition is continuing to fight against the privatization of health care and is pushing for improved care and conditions at nursing homes across the province.
In the last two years, Mehra said more than 4,500 long-term care residents have died from COVID-19 alone.
“That does not count what are surely thousands that have died of dehydration, of starvation, of lack of medical care, of neglect, through the pandemic. It’s one of the worst records in the world, and really nothing has happened to improve the care levels,” she said.
Mehra pointed to staffing shortages and a lack of funding as the biggest shortfalls at long-term care facilities in the province.
“Ontario funds our health care at the lowest rate in Canada and we have a long way to go to reach the average,” she said
The coalition is calling for a minimum of four hours of care each day for each long-term care resident, along with the reinstatement of surprise nursing home inspections and more accountability.
“There should be annual surprise inspections and enforcement. Not one of the homes, including the big for-profit chains that have the highest death rates, has been fined. No one has lost their license,” said Mehra. “There need to be penalties for not providing care.”
As the Ontario election campaign period gets underway this week, the coalition has begun distributing lawn and window signs in an effort to raise awareness for their cause.
Anyone in Chatham-Kent who would like to display one of the signs is asked to contact Shirley Roebuck, the chairperson of the coalition’s local chapter, at 226-402-2724.
