Seniors in long-term care are often able to live vibrant, active lives – but only when they have the support they need. Howard Hampton and the NDP are committed to giving seniors the care and dignity they deserve.

Dalton McGuinty broke his promise to bring back the NDP’s minimum standards of care scrapped by the Conservatives. Despite McGuinty’s promise of a “revolution in long term care”, four years later there are still no minimum standards of daily nursing and personal care for seniors living in long-term care homes.

As a result, too many seniors are not getting the care they need to meet their basic needs, let alone have the support they need to live active, full lives. Understaffing means basics like bathing, repositioning, referrals to medical care and even feeding, are left undone because there is just not enough care time. This shortfall has serious health and quality of life implications for both long-term-care residents and over-stretched staff.

Families are forced to step in and bear the burden for making sure their loved ones are being taken care of when homes can’t provide adequate standards of living. Working families are becoming exhausted caregivers – they deserve better support.

After a lifetime of building our province and communities, our seniors also deserve better. Fairness for seniors and their families means providing the best care possible. Howard Hampton and Ontario’s NDP will guarantee a minimum standard of 3.5 hours a day of hands-on nursing and personal care for seniors living in long term care homes.

A minimum level of hands-on care would ensure, that at the very least, Ontario seniors get the basic nursing and personal support they need every day. It would relieve strain on working families who are often providing, unpaid, much of the care that should be provided by long-term care professionals.

Dalton McGuinty got it wrong when he broke his promise to bring back minimum standards of care. New Democrats will get it right and make sure seniors get the care and respect they deserve.

We will reduce hospital waits and improve health care:

• certify internationally-trained doctors to practice in Ontario
• expand home care and guarantee a daily minimum of 3 1/2 hours of personal care in long-term care homes to take the pressure off hospitals, ERs and family caregivers
• ensure that every provincial health dollar is invested in public health care – not private hospitals