By Ashleigh Cox
Retirement homes, posing as nursing homes need to be regulated to ensure appropriate standards of care as waiting lists for long-term care facilities in Ottawa-Carleton lengthen, says the region’s Council on Aging.
Almost 2,000 people are on waiting lists and many retirement homes are serving as nursing homes as the population ages, says Alex Cullen, executive director for the council.
A shortage of beds in the region’s 17 long-term care facilities has prompted some privately run retirement homes to provide medical care to residents, he says. Many seniors and care-providers are concerned about the quality of care residents receive in unregulated retirement residences.
All long-term care facilities are regulated by the province, says Garry Armstrong, commissioner of Social Services and Homes for the Aged. If a care facility fails to meet regulations, the ministry can revoke its licence. However, enforcing standards is a problem, when it comes to regulating privately owned facilities, he says. Long-term care facilities receive funding from the Ministry of Health and the region. Client fees also contribute to funding, says Dawn O’Leary, executive director of The Glebe Centre, a long-term care facility in Ottawa. Private retirement homes can charge rent and bill residents additional amounts for care, she says. There are currently an estimated 4,000 seniors living in some 50 unregulated retirement homes in Ottawa-Carleton.
“The government hasn’t been keeping up with the aging of the population,” says Cullen.
A task force created to make recommendations to regional council about how retirement homes should be regulated is expected to do so in November. Created from an April community forum on setting care standards for vulnerable seniors, the task force is made up of representatives from seniors groups and service providers.
An independent body capable of dealing with complaints is necessary to enforce standards, says Cullen, who is also a member of the task force on regulating retirement homes. The independent body should be composed of representatives from the provincial government, the municipalities, seniors’ groups and retirement homes, he says.
Fifty-five per cent of unregulated retirement facilities in Ontario belong to the Ontario Residential Care Association, an independent organization that sets out guidelines, policies and procedures for facilities, says David Porter, of ORCA.
Whereas members of ORCA must pass regular inspections of their administration, nursing services, activities, food service, housekeeping and building maintenance, private homes are not bound by provincial regulations, are not publicly inspected and do not require licences.
Stories of Alzheimer’s patients left smoking unattended point towards the need for regulation, says Cullen.