OFL Advocates For Better Continence Care for the Elderly
By Jo-Anne Pickel
The Ontario Federation of Labour is undertaking a two-pronged strategy to advocate for better continence care for the elderly in long-term care homes. First, the Federation is filing a complaint with Ontario’s Director of Long Term Care to challenge inadequate incontinence policies and practices in the province’s long-term care homes. Second, the OFL is requesting that the Human Rights Commission conduct an investigation and consultation into the issue.
A. Complaint to Ministry
Most long-term care homes in Ontario ration incontinence products. They also have policies and practices in place that require elderly residents to wear continence pads until they are at least 75% full. The OFL’s complaint charges that such policies and practices place long-term care homes in breach of applicable legislation and standards, the Ontario Human Rights Code, as well as the Agreements the homes must sign with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The complaint outlines several breaches including the following:
- failure to meet the “clean and dry” standard set out in the Ministry’s Long-Term Care Program Manual and failure to provide continence care based on residents’ individual needs, as required by the Manual;
- breach of governing legislation by providing improper care which harms residents;
- breach of residents’ bills of rights included within the legislation governing long-term care homes that guarantee residents the right to be cared for in a respectful manner and to be free from abuse or neglect;
- breach of agreement that the homes sign with the Ministry which requires them to meet the standards set out in the Long-Term Care Program Manual and governing legislation; and
- breach of residents’ rights to be free from age and disability-related discrimination under the Human Rights Code.
The OFL is requesting that the Director of Long Term Care assign a compliance advisor to conduct an investigation of the continence care policies and practices in long-term care homes. The Federation is also requesting that the Director require homes to comply with legal continence care requirements and take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that residents’ continence care needs are met in a respectful, dignified, and compassionate manner, free from abuse and neglect.
B. Call for Human Rights Commission Investigation
The OFL is also calling on Barbara Hall, the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, to conduct an investigation into continence care policies and practices in long term care homes. The OFL is requesting that the Commission inquire into, review and develop recommendations, strategies, measures, education and other programs to address the systemic violation of human rights of residents and workers in long-term care homes. While the Commission’s power to pro-actively investigate human rights violations will be greatly expanded when the reforms to the Code come into effect June 30, 2008, the Commission has the power under s. 29 of the current Code to initiate investigations into human rights problems and to co-ordinate plans to address such problems.
In both its complaint and request for a Human Rights Commission investigation the OFL stresses the need to investigate how inadequate government funding of continence care has contributed to legislative and human rights violations by long-term care homes.
The OFL’s advocacy relating to continence care in long-term care homes is based upon the legal analysis and research contained in the legal opinion provided by Mary Cornish and Jo-Anne Pickel.
Click here to link to the OFL’s website for more information on this issue.