Long-term care homes must expand their workforce to meet the growing complex needs of residents and to meet the government’s commitment to increasing hours of direct care, all while ensuring homes can maintain vibrant teams.
Long-term care homes must expand their workforce to meet the growing complex needs of residents and to meet the government’s commitment to increasing hours of direct care, all while ensuring homes can maintain vibrant teams.
Long-term care homes must expand their workforce to meet the government commitments for new spaces and increased hours of direct care.
By 2029, long-term care homes will require more than 58,600 additional nurses and personal support workers (PSWs), more than double the current long-term care workforce.
Ensuring homes have enough staff is important to allowing seniors to age well within their own communities. Particularly, for small and rural communities, long-term care is an essential employer and anchor for seniors’ care within the community.
However, the long-term care sector is facing significant challenges to recruit and retain staff.
Job vacancy rates in healthcare and social assistance across Canada has risen nearly 60 percent in the last five years.
On top of staffing shortages, labour costs are rising. Arbitrated wage settlements have imposed additional costs for many homes.
There are many opportunities for Ontario’s long-term care homes to be global leaders in new innovative approaches to care and staffing, including models that are person-centred and enable more time for staff to focus on residents.
OLTCA is advocating for measures supporting the recruitment and retention of staff to ensure long-term care residents can receive the quality of care and living they deserve, including:
As long-term care homes move increasingly towards resident-centred, holistic, emotion-focused care models, we must recognize the value and care delivered by integrated, multidisciplinary teams. To thrive, learn and grow, these teams need a culture focused improving and driving quality.
Recruitment and retention of staff in long-term care is hindered by today’s policies. Instead of building a culture of quality improvement and continuous learning as the path to ensuring resident safety and quality of care, government policy is increasingly focusing on fault-finding, compliance and enforcement. This approach dissuades innovation, undermines recruitment, and incentivizes the best staff to leave for other parts of the health system.
Read our 2025 Provincial Budget Submission
Learn about careers in long-term care