FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2023
It’s time to improve long-term care on Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown, PE – Our office has heard from a number of loved ones of long-term care residents, as well as frontline workers in long-term care homes, about the neglect and lack of care seniors are receiving. Their stories are heartbreaking and frustrating.
Last summer we joined with these families and called on the Conservative government to launch a public inquiry. Premier King said no and that he would instead launch a review of long-term care with a hand-picked committee. The report of this promised review has not been released to the public yet and the King Conservatives have been absolutely silent on addressing the state of long-term care.
“Residents living in long-term care homes must be a priority. They deserve a safe place to live where they can participate in their own care. We know outcomes in long-term care on PEI can and should be better,” said Michele Beaton, Official Opposition Green Critic for Health and Wellness. “The King government must stop ignoring Islanders living in long-term care and finally make the report his committee produced on long-term care available to the public.”
The national standards released today aim to improve a system that is failing the residents living in the homes. The standards call for accountability for the quality of care that the long-term care homes deliver. This requires resident and workforce experience feedback to be gathered and heard.
“I’ve been told by residents and long-term care workers that when they express concerns through the complaint process, it goes into a black hole and unsafe protocol reports are completely ignored,” said Beaton. “And for every report made, there is an even larger number of reports not being made because a vast majority of people are too scared to speak up. Premier King may say it is safe to speak out, but everyone I have spoken to who has experience within long-term care in PEI is challenging the Premier’s declaration.”
The Official Opposition is calling on the King Conservatives to immediately release the report on long-term care. We are also calling on government to immediately begin the legislative processes necessary to implement the standards released today.
“There has been a consistent failure in leadership in improving long-term care up to this point. Premier King must not ignore the issues and he cannot refuse to implement the standards released today.”
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Jonathan Hamel
Director of Communications
Office of the Official Opposition
Tel: (902) 213-0718
Email: jdhamel@assembly.pe.ca