Making long-term care homes more 'home-like' among new national recommendations in wake of COVID-19
CTV
New national guidelines aimed at improving the quality of life and care for people in nursing homes are now available for public review and feedback.
New national guidelines aimed at improving the quality of life and care for people in nursing homes are now available for public review and feedback.
The release of the recommendations comes as residents face isolation and staff continue to deal with challenges amid outbreaks of COVID-19.
But the proposed guidelines are aimed at making changes beyond the pandemic.
Dr. Samir Sinha, who’s originally from Winnipeg and is now director of geriatrics for Sinai Health in Toronto, said once finalized, the new Long-Term Care Services Standard will be used to assess care homes across the country, including in Manitoba.
“The standard can also become the basis of new legislation, new regulations,” said Dr. Sinha, who’s serving as chair of the technical committee involved in developing the guidelines for the Health Standards Organization.
After public consultations with more than 18,000 Canadians, the new recommendations propose long-term care facilities become more like people’s homes, among several other changes.
“Thousands of Canadians said we want long-term care homes to be like homes, be more home-like and we’re like ‘what does home-like mean to you’ and it was very interesting when you started hearing that further nuance,” Sinha said.
