Editorial
Ombudsman Investigation May Help Launch a New Era in Long-Term Care
Friday August 22, 2008
Ontario ombudsman André Marin’s six-month investigation into the viability of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care standards for long-term care homes could expedite a new era for the sector where resident outcomes are measured to determine quality of care.

The initiative being taken by Marin’s office to assess the ministry’s current standards is welcomed to the extent that it helps to hasten changes considered by the ministry and through the recent Sharkey report.

As an organization, OMNI would like to see a re-evaluation of these standards result in more focus on resident outcomes than on process. Care needs are changing and it makes sense that those closest to care adapt how they create positive outcomes for residents according to the most current professional knowledge.

Under the current system, staff members in Ontario’s 622 long-term care homes must continually document resident activities. Some of the current demands consume scarce caregiver time that could yield much greater results if used in direct-care provision.

While documentation is a necessary function in long-term care homes, there needs to be more examination of the benefits residents receive from living in long-term care.

Measuring the extent to which protocols are followed examines only part of the reason homes meet with success in improving the lives of residents.

When documentation requirements are not met, long-term care homes face scrutiny from the ministry, often resulting in negative press.

The criticism levelled against the home, and the sector, doesn’t fully represent or adequately reflect the care being delivered to residents.

The impact on staff, residents, and their families of such reporting, by the ministry or the media, damages staff morale, and get in the way of the constructive relationships needed to deliver the best quality of care.

Further to this, we should be asking more questions that get to the heart of the issue: Are residents happy? Have residents’ lives improved from being in long-term care homes? Are there processes in place to ensure accountability when residents have concerns?

Information providing answers to these questions would go much further into determining the state of long-term care in the province than merely examining protocols.

If these kinds of changes are catalyzed by Marin’s report the value-added benefits could be enormous by virtue of a more accurate and constructive working environment for all stakeholders.