By Rob Ferguson
Queen's Park Bureau
Health Minister George Smitherman is cleaning up the mess created by his plan to personally test an adult diaper used in nursing homes.
Smitherman apologized today, suggesting his words weren't chosen as carefully as he should have but insisting his heart was in the right place.
"At the heart of it, you say a million words and some of them you wish that you could take back," he said in an interview on CFRB. "The people of the province of Ontario I hope know me well enough to know that I'm doing my very best to put myself at all times in the perspective of the patient."
Critics were angry with him for the remark made yesterday, saying it suggests he doesn't understand the real issue is not the absorbency of diapers, but a lack of staff to help nursing home residents get to the bathroom and change diapers promptly.
Smitherman's suggestion yesterday came as a union, whose members work in nursing homes, raised alarms over a shortage of staff to help residents get to the bathroom or change their diapers more often.
Opposition politicians, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and a nursing home association said Smitherman's plan to test drive a diaper shows he doesn't understand the issue is about staffing levels – not diaper technology.
"For him to suggest that's his answer is a disgrace," said Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.
(abridged article) SOURCE: thestarnews
No comments:
Post a Comment