Front-line Nurses Urge Quick Implementation of Measures to Improve Long-Term
Care Monitoring

TORONTO, Dec. 22 /CNW/ - The Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) urges the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to move quickly to implement recommendations contained in a new report from provincial ombudsman Andre Marin released today.

"Clearly, there are serious problems with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's monitoring of compliance in this sector," says ONA President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN. "Our members have long had concerns about the quality of care and conditions that our residents in long-term care experience, and the report is certainly a call for action."

Haslam-Stroud says that ONA members have seen evidence of inconsistent interpretation and application of standards from facility to facility while striving to ensure quality care for residents. Provincial Ombudsman Andre Marin found a multitude of issues within the Ministry related to the monitoring, inspection, complaint investigation and public reporting of non-compliance functions.

"The bottom line for our nurses is ensuring that our vulnerable and elderly residents experience a high quality of life and receive a high quality of care," says Haslam-Stroud. "For our front-line nurses, for the families of these residents, and most of all, for the thousands of Ontarians who reside in long-term care, the government can't move quickly enough to improve its performance."

ONA is the union representing 55,000 front-line registered nurses and allied health professionals and more than 12,000 nursing student affiliates providing care in Ontario hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, the community and industry.

For further information:

Ontario Nurses' Association

Sheree Bond  [phone], ext. 2430  Cellular: [phone]