[GTranslate]TORONTO – It is well known that working in a long-term care home is exhausting and psychologically stressful, especially during the Covid pandemic. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize what happened in these facilities since March last year. Now, a new survey conducted by the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) shows that more than 60% of LTC nurses say they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “Many of the nurses say ‘I feel like I’m on a battlefield, there’s not a moment of respite- said ONA President Vicki McKenna – there was no time to feel the pain and try to get through everything that happened.'”

These are nurses who have witnessed the desperate conditions in these nursing homes where staff shortages and a lack of personal protective equipment have led to terrible suffering.

Many of the 3,300 nurses surveyed reported that the pandemic had an impact on their health and finances, and nearly a third of them said they did not feel protected.

With the pandemic between the head and neck, these health workers were faced with a completely new situation to which they were not prepared.  In fact, 43% said that they had not received any training on how to take care of someone positive for Covid-19 despite a good preparation could have prevented deaths and spread of the virus. Both physical and psychological over-fatigue, tension, uncertainty and problematic conditions have defied these frontline operators. Operators who confirmed, if necessary, that hygiene and staff within these facilities were just two words, nothing more. When asked if the management of long-term care homes had asked them to wear the same mask with both healthy and infected elderly people, 42% of nurses in LTC for-profit responded positively while in non-profit homes 24% of nurses said yes.

In addition, about a third of the nurses who took part in the survey said long-term care homes were often understaffed. As if that were not enough, the supply of N95 masks was also a problem especially in homes with outbreaks of the virus 49% of health workers testified: 20% of them said that it was the LTC that declared that “the cost of personal protective equipment was a problem”.

Meanwhile, yesterday the NDP – which wants to include nursing homes on his electoral platform – yesterday tabled a motion calling on the government to abolish LTC for profit by 2030. The vote on the motion, which urges the government to work with provinces and territories to stop licensing new for-profit homes, is expected today. “We know that profit means less care, it means fewer hours of care, it means less quality food – NDP leader Singh said at a virtual conference – and therefore we must eliminate profit from long-term care.”