Doug Ford's government promised 1 inspector for every 2 long-term care homes. That hasn't happened
CBC
Premier Doug Ford's government is falling short of its promises to conduct annual inspections of every long-term care home in Ontario and to boost the ratio of inspectors to homes, according to information obtained by CBC News.
The government announced a plan in October 2021 to double the number of long-term care inspectors, so that the province would have one inspector for every two nursing homes in the province.
There are 624 long-term care facilities in Ontario. However, figures provided to CBC News this week by the Ministry of Long-Term Care show that only 234 inspectors are currently working in the field.
That's well short of the 312 that would be needed to meet the promised ratio.
Earlier this year, the government declared that it had already hit its target. "Ontario now has the highest inspector-to-home ratio in the country, surpassing our goal of having one inspector for every two homes in the province," then-minister Paul Calandra said in a February news release.
Meanwhile, new data shows the government is also failing to meet its pledges on what are called "proactive compliance inspections" — a comprehensive inspection that doesn't just investigate a specific incident.
The government had promised "enough inspectors to proactively visit each home every year, while continuing reactive inspections to promptly address complaints and critical incidents."
Ontario conducted just 61 proactive compliance inspections in 2022, according to data in a new report by the advocacy group Concerned Friends.
Fresh figures the Ministry of Long-term Care provided to CBC News this week show just 92 such inspections have been conducted so far in 2023.
To do a proactive inspection on every home within a year, the province would have to increase its 2023 pace by a factor of five.
"All long-term care homes in the province will receive an annual proactive inspection by the end of 2025, while the ministry continues to respond to critical incidents and complaints," said a ministry spokesperson in an email to CBC News.
The official said the ministry had 138 inspector positions in June 2021, then added 156 inspectors by 2023.
"At present, a recruitment for more than 50 additional inspectors is underway. The conclusion of this recruitment will ensure we further exceed the doubling of the inspectorate," the spokesperson said.
Concerned Friends, which has been advocating for the rights of long-term care residents for more than 40 years, describes the number of proactive inspections as very disappointing.
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