September 29th, 2020

Ford refuses to provide Sudbury area LTC homes with protective equipment

QUEEN’S PARK – The Ford government is refusing to give long-term care homes in Sudbury the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to keep their staff and residents safe during the second wave of COVID-19 — in fact, despite written evidence that that’s the case, the Ford government keeps denying that Sudbury needs PPE.

NDP MPP France Gélinas (Nickel Belt) questioned Premier Doug Ford and his government during question period Tuesday.

“We are currently in the second wave, six months since the declaration of the pandemic, and our LTC homes still cannot get the PPE they need from this government,” said Gélinas.

“This government’s policy to wait until a home is in outbreak before releasing N95 masks, completely ignores the basic principals of infection control. LTC homes require an inventory of PPE on hand to ensure they are ready. LTC homes cannot wait until they are in outbreak to be rationed N95 masks from Ontario Health, or the LHINs, or the northern supply chain, or the back of the premier’s truck.

“They need to be ready and that means they need an inventory on site.‘’

The chair of two local long-term care homes wrote to the premier, MPP Gélinas talked to the minister of health and the minister of long-term care, to ask for the PPE Sudbury LTC homes are missing – but to no avail.

“When does the minister expect every Ontario long-term care home, including St Joseph’s Villa and Villa St. Gabriel in my riding, will have the needed inventory of N95 masks on hand?”

MPP Gélinas said the chair of St. Joseph’s Villa and Villa St. Gabriel Villa wrote a letter to the premier on September 22 telling him that they have been pleading for PPE since the beginning of the crisis.

“Minister, you’ve seen the letter dated Sept. 22 from the Chair of St Joseph’s Villa and Villa St-Gabriel. He wrote: ‘since the onset of the pandemic, both our 128-bed LTC homes have been desperately trying to acquire N95 masks for our facilities with no success.’"