Follow-up

The issue in 2018/19

The shortage of personal support workers in Ontario and the impact of this shortage on the stability of care for home care patients is a long-standing problem.

In 2018/19, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Patient Ombudsman spotlighted this issue in its 2018/19 annual report. Patient Ombudsman offered the following suggestions to home and community care at that time:

• Ensure that contracted service providers are communicating with patients and/or caregivers when there are service changes or when planned visits cannot be provided.
• Proactively work with patients, caregivers and service providers to develop contingency plans for vulnerable patients, including appropriate escalation protocols to ensure that patients are not left at risk.
• Make sure that contracted service providers are appropriately prioritizing services for vulnerable patients, especially patients with fragile informal supports.
• Ensure patients and caregivers know who to contact if they have questions or concerns. Make sure they know how to escalate their concerns if they’re not satisfied with the response they are receiving.

Patient Ombudsman also offered suggestions to patients receiving home care services and their caregivers:

• Make sure you know who to contact if you experience a missed service visit. If you don’t get a timely response, don’t be afraid to escalate you concern to your care coordinator or the patient relations representative.
• Ask your care coordinator to help you plan for contingencies to ensure that you or your loved one are safe at home.
• If you are experiencing persistent problems with missed or inconsistent care, make sure your care coordinator knows, and ask for a meeting to discuss your options.
• Keep records with the dates and times of your communications with home and community care and your contracted service provider.