Patient Ombudsman report reinforces urgent need for action

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to the special report released by the Patient Ombudsman on Thursday:

“The report from the Patient Ombudsman paints a harrowing and devastating picture of the chaos in our long-term care homes during the first wave of COVID-19. Because Doug Ford didn’t want to invest in safety measures, homes were chronically understaffed without the infection controls and personal protective equipment they needed to control outbreaks. Now we’re seeing the same penny-pinching causing the same problems in the second wave, leaving our precious parents and grandparents at risk.

Doug Ford is brushing off the voices of people pleading for action in long-term care, because he again doesn’t want to invest the money. Ontario families with loved ones in long-term care deserve so much better than a government that keeps trying to save a buck by doing the bare minimum. This report adds more evidence to the solid truth: Doug Ford needs to stop pinching pennies, and take urgent action in long-term care homes to prevent more devastating COVID-19 infections.”