CUPE and others are campaigning for a legislated minimum average of four worked hours of nursing and personal care per resident per day in long-term care (LTC) facilities. New research indicates that not only is LTC underfunded in Ontario, it is also understaffed compared to the other provinces. LTC staffing falls short: The latest data published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (and based on a mandatory survey undertaken by Statistics Canada) indicates that staffing at long-term care (LTC) facilities falls far short of other provinces. Part of this is driven by a low level of provincial funding for LTC. Ontario has 0.575 health care full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) per bed staffed and in operation. [1] The rest of Canada reports 0.665 health care FTEs. [2] The rest of Canada has 15.7% more health care staff per bed staffed and in operation than Ontario. [3] No other province reports fewer LTC health care staff per resident (
Notes from Leftwords -- Doug Allan