Advocates concerned mandatory rapid testing will further strain resources at long-term care homes

As Ontario long-term care homes transition to mandatory rapid COVID-19 testing, advocates warn of the added stress the new measure will put on the already strained sector. 

The transition from PCR testing began this week, and by Monday, March 15, 2021, rapid antigen testing will be mandatory for anyone who enters a long-term care home, including for staff and visitors. 

While rapid testing is being welcomed as a crucial tool to keep coronavirus out of LTC homes, Lisa Levin, CEO of AdvantAge Ontario, tells Sam Laprade on the Rob Snow Show, it doesn't come without complications.  

“We're really happy that this opportunity is now being presented, but the issue is that you need to set up, almost like a little mini-lab in the home,” Levin said. “That requires staff, seven days a week, working on this. Because there's so many shortages in the LTC sector, it's made it challenging.”

Levin says staffing shortages were an issue even before COVID-19, and that with the pandemic, there's now the requirement that people can only work in one long-term care home. Levin adds that factor, along with outbreaks and illness among staff, have led to very limited staffing options for LTC homes.  

For years, they had been asking the Ontario government for a comprehensive health human resources strategy, and that request was granted late last year, Levin explained. 

“You can't fix the problem with just one initiative; you need to look at it comprehensively,” she said. “So we were really happy to see that in November; the government released a strategy for health human resources and long-term care, so now we just need to get it rolled out.”

However, Levin says one thing missing from the province's strategy is that salaries need to be raised across the sector to make it more comparable with other sectors, like acute care.

Another barrier to finding LTC staff is a lack of on-the-job training.

“If you want to be a personal support worker, for example, that works in long-term care, you need to go to school and then work. What we really need is on-the-job training where people get paid,” Levin said. “Plus, it's important that this kind of training be held with practicums; living classrooms in the home. You need to be in the home, with the seniors.”