Ontario Personal Support Workers

"PSWs are the most intimate point of contact for 75,000 elderly Ontarians living in government-supported nursing homes, helping with everything from feeding to toileting."

While these Long-Term Care (LTC - not 'nursing homes' - there are fewer nurses) are homes run on government support, most (about 500 out of the 600 in Ontario) are for-profit institutions. Thereby lies the rub. And regulation of retirement homes isn't going to help.


We need consistently trained, responsive, responsible PSWs who are accountable, registered and regulated. I am not sure that the training is entirely the issue, either. It is making the for-profit institutions accountable to taxpayers and residents for effectively-managed staff. The work formerly done by nurses is now being done by PSWs: changing bedding, changing incontinence products, toileting of incontinent residents, which requires a great deal of intimate interaction. Rumours of for-profit institutions demanding that adult diapers be held back are horrifying.