Staff Shortages A ‘Systemic Issue’ At Hard-Hit Ottawa Care Home: Families

Laura Tamblyn Watts, the CEO of seniors’ advocacy organization CanAge, said the confinement of residents in their rooms “simply can never happen again.” To ensure it doesn’t, essential caregiver policies are critical, she said. Tamblyn Watts also said Ontario’s temporary wage increase for long-term care staff — $3 per hour for about 50,000 eligible workers — is a positive step, but “really only a drop in the bucket” of what is needed given staff are likely exhausted and temporary summer staff have moved on.