If adopted, recommendations to address systemic failings identified by a public inquiry into long-term care homes in Ontario could result in new staffing models and improved medication management systems, says Toronto health lawyer Lisa Corrente.

The final report and recommendations of The Public Inquiry Into the Safety and Security of Residents in the Long-Term Care Homes System, led by Justice Eileen E. Gillese, was released July 31 in Woodstock, Ont.

"I think the Commissioner made recommendations that have the potential for strengthening the system to some extent," says Corrente, a partner with Torkin Manes LLP. "What's very important to effecting change is whether the provincial government will be taking steps to assist long-term care homes in implementing the recommendations they've been offered through increased funding and more flexibility in how to use that funding."

Corrente participated in the inquiry, representing one of the nursing homes in which serial-killer nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer murdered a resident.

In June 2017 Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder for injecting residents of nursing homes in Woodstock and London with fatal doses of insulin between 2007 and 2014. She was sentenced to life in prison.

This article was originally published on Advocate Daily. To read the complete article, visit Advocate Daily online.