TORONTO - The Ontario government has to get serious about improving the disgraceful conditions in the province's nursing homes or elderly residents will continue to suffer needlessly and some may even die prematurely, a coalition of health-care unions said Tuesday.

In light of an investigation by The Canadian Press that found three-quarters of Ontario nursing homes have consistently failed to meet some of the 400 standards set out by the province, workers said it's time for the Liberals to bring in a minimum standard of care and boost funding.

Sharleen Stewart, who represents nursing home support workers, said there will be more tragedies if the Liberals don't make this a top priority.

"You're going to continue to see people live in those conditions and you're going to probably see more (unnecessary) deaths inside those nursing homes," said Stewart, president of the Service Employees International Union.

"It's absolutely shameful that it hasn't been a priority. No human being should have to live under those conditions."

An analysis of provincial inspection reports by The Canadian Press found over 60 per cent of Ontario nursing homes failed to meet some of the specific set of standards designed to protect the safety and dignity of residents.

Some Ontario homes were cited for failing to bathe residents twice a week or provide a toothbrush.

While the Liberals say they are putting more money into improving long-term care, others say that cash has gone to build new beds and hasn't improved front-line care.

The unions are calling for the Liberals to guarantee residents receive an average of 3.5 hours of care a day -- something the Liberals and a government-commissioned report has rejected.

Sid Ryan, president of Ontario's Canadian Union of Public Employees, said the Liberals should be ashamed that the proportion of long-term care homes failing to meet some of the province's basic standards hasn't changed since 2004.

"That has got to be a huge embarrassment," he said. "I only hope that (Premier Dalton) McGuinty is hanging his head in shame today at the lack of progress that his government has made inside long-term care facilities."

Alan Findlay, spokesman for Health Minister David Caplan, said the minister wasn't available to respond Tuesday.

Vicki McKenna, first vice-president of the Ontario Nurses Association, said the Liberals are just hoping this issue will go away.

"But we're not going to allow it to go away. They need to take action," she said.

"This is not acceptable at all. This is not the way to treat our elderly and our most fragile and most vulnerable. It's frightening some of the conditions people are living in."

Janet Lambert, executive director of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association, dismissed that as union rhetoric which just demoralizes people who are doing good work in nursing homes.

The association is pushing the Liberals to speed up the long-term funding they promised in the last budget, she said. But imposing a minimum standard on nursing homes is more about helping unions sell more membership cards than it is about improving resident care, she said.

"Let's not kid ourselves," Lambert said. "This is a lot about having a membership drive for the unions because if there is a minimum standard of care, that means there are a minimum number of employees. We recognize that there is an agenda here."

Still, political critics are calling for the Liberals to take action.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said the Liberals promised a revolution in long-term care years ago but haven't done much since.

"Not only has there not been a revolution, there hasn't even been a cap-pistol fired to indicate that we care about the fact there are seniors sitting in soiled diapers, not getting baths and so on," he said.

The Liberals should increase funding for long-term care and whittle down their list of standards to differentiate between things like cracked ceilings and the number of baths residents get a week, he said.

New Democrat France Gelinas said the Liberals should follow through on a promise they made in 2003 and re-instate a daily minimum standard of care for residents, as well as give the Ontario ombudsman the power to hold nursing homes to account.