PEIAbout a dozen Islanders who have loved ones in privately operated long-term care homes in Prince Edward Island say they’re concerned about the care their loved ones are getting in comparison to those living in government-run homes.Gord McNeilly says government keeps giving full licences to facilities that aren’t fully complyingRyan McKellop · CBC News · Posted: Nov 05, 2025 2:24 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesNot all long-term care residents receiving proper standard of care, some Islanders saySome people with loved ones living in private long-term care homes in P.E.I. are concerned about the level of care they’re receiving. They say it’s not the same quality as what’s given in government-owned facilities — and they told MLAs that they want that to change. CBC�’s Wayne Thibodeau explains.About a dozen Islanders who have loved ones in privately operated long-term care homes in Prince Edward Island say they’re concerned about the care their loved ones are getting in comparison to those living in government-run homes.In a letter to Health and Wellness Minister Mark McLane, the group shared “deep concerns” about a lack of training, timely medical attention and government oversight in the private facilities.One of those who signed the letter, Susan Munn, was at the P.E.I. Legislature on Wednesday. Her mother is 98 years old and lives in a private long-term care home. Munn spoke on behalf of the concerned residents.”We are advocating for the same standards, the same regulations, the same level of care for our loved ones that exists in the other systems,” she said.”There’s been preventable bed sores, there’s been situations where dementia patients have wandered outside unbeknownst to the staff, and there’s been situations where there’s been untrained folks that are caring for our loved ones.”Munn would also like to see more transparency around how families are informed about incidents that occur — something she said isn’t happening now.The group has tried to work with staff at the private homes, she said, and it has reached out to the Department of Health and Wellness and P.E.I.’s ombudsperson, all with limited success.Concerns addressed in legislatureTheir concerns were addressed during Wednesday’s question period in the legislative assembly.”What do you say to these residents and families who have been left without the proper care that they feel like they deserve?” Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly asked McLane.”Our seniors deserve the best care we can give them within the province,” the health minister replied. “There’s no doubt I want that, our seniors want that and families want that.”McLane said families have avenues through which they can seek improvements in privately run homes.”We have a complaints-based system that we use to manage accreditation and compliance at our private long-term care homes,” he said. Liberal MLA and health critic Gord McNeilly brought up concerns from Island families about care provided in private long-term care homes during question period in the legislature Wednesday. (Legislative Assembly of P.E.I.)McNeilly, though, said some private homes are granted full-care licences without reaching some key care standards. He said he’s reviewed inspection reports and licensing letters for all of the province’s 11 private long-term care facilities. “Many facilities are only partially compliant with key care standards, yet they’re still being granted full licences,” he said. “In some cases, homes received provisional licences due to deficiencies and, when re-inspected months later, the same issues remained… but full licences were still issued.”CBC News also reviewed some those inspection reports, which do show a number of homes with outstanding problems — though the reports do not outline what work needs to be done. ‘Government is letting this slide by’McLane said his department has invested money into ensuring that the standard of care in both public and private homes was equal.”We’re certainly not going to close beds because… of a small provisional issue,” he said. “We will work with the operators to fix that and to keep our residents in a safe and protected environment.”After question period, McNeilly told reporters that long-term care homes need to be up to standard.”They’re non-compliant and the minister has to keep giving them provisional licences, and they keep doing that, but they keep missing what they’re supposed to do to get them up to standards,” he said.”The facilities are probably not getting the support of government. Government is letting this slide by and we’re going through this cycle.”Health and Wellness Minister Mark McLane says a 2023 external review of long-term care in P.E.I. included 17 recommendations, but it will take time to have them all implemented. (Legislative Assembly of P.E.I.)Speaking with reporters, McLane said he was disappointed the concerns made their way to the floor of legislature.”I’m not involved in the complaint process at our long-term care facilities, so we do have a very rigorous complaint system in place where we use a board in order to investigate complaints or concerns,” he said, adding that he trusts the complaint board will make recommendations to the long-term care facilities to increase safety and staffing.In 2023, an external review found that P.E.I.’s long-term care homes “were not sufficiently prepared for a pandemic” when the COVID-19 crisis began, leading to the quality of care for residents deteriorating, according to an external panel appointed by the provincial government. The report made 17 recommendations for improvement, including putting public and private care homes under a single legislative act so that they don’t have different accreditation and inspection regimes. McLane said implementing the recommendations will take time.ABOUT THE AUTHORRyan McKellop is a graduate of the Holland College journalism program and is working as an Associate Producer and Web Writer. Got a story idea? Email ryan.mckellop@cbc.caWith files from Wayne Thibodeau
Many private long-term care homes in P.E.I. ‘only partially compliant’ with standards, says MLA
