Ontario Government Passes Controversial Long Term Care Bill Without Public Input

The government has faced criticism for the vague wording of the legislation and for choosing not to send the draft bill to committee – meaning no public feedback was gathered before it was passed. None of the opposition parties supported the bill. Long-term care minister Paul Calandra said the government moved to bypass the committee phase because of the urgent need to free up acute care beds in hospitals, which have faced unprecedented pressure in recent months, mainly due to a shortage of nurses. Calandra said sending patients who need an “alternative level of care” to long-term care homes will help ease that burden. According to the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), there were 5,930 alternative level of care patients — those judged to no longer need acute care — in the hospital as of Aug. 17, of which 40 per cent were waiting for a space in long-term care. The new legislation does not allow patients to be physically forced to move to a long-term care home, but it is unclear what will happen if a patient refuses the move. Critics said a patient who won’t be moved could be forced to pay the uninsured hospital stay rate, which can be as high as $1,800 a day. Speaking Tuesday, however, Premier Doug Ford said an $1,800 charge under those circumstances would be “absolutely ridiculous,” but said hospitals and Ontario Health are looking at what the charge amount might be. “We’re going to have to figure a cost, and the hospitals have to figure the cost,” he said. “People determine it — it’s not me personally … But I can guarantee you it’s not going to be $1,800.” Another unanswered question is how far from their homes patients will be able to move under the bill’s parameters. The opposition NDP and Liberals have repeatedly claimed that in northern Ontario, patients could be moved up to 300 kilometers from their homes. Meanwhile, patients in most of southern Ontario could be up to 100 kilometers away and those in cities up to 30 kilometers from their homes. Calandra and his ministry declined to provide specific information about the distances, saying those elements of the legislation were still under discussion with stakeholders. Calandra said, however, that every effort will be made to keep patients “as close as possible” to their families and support systems. The minister has promised that regulations supporting Bill 7, called the More Beds, Better Care Act, will be presented to the legislature within a week of the bill being passed. The legislation is part of a wider plan first announced two weeks ago by Health Secretary Sylvia Jones to help reduce pressures on the health care system. The proposed changes aim to hire more health professionals, free up hospital beds and reduce waiting lists for surgery. Anthony Dale, OHA president and CEO, previously told CBC Toronto that he supported the passage of the law, noting that the current number of alternative care patients is the highest the province has ever seen. Dale said capacity challenges affect all patients, including those who need urgent care, surgery and diagnostics. “Ontario hospitals are quickly becoming the health care provider of last resort for thousands of people who really need access to home care, long-term care and other services. This is not appropriate for these patients,” he said. Neither Calandra nor Health Minister Sylvia Jones were available to answer questions from the media after Wednesday’s meeting in parliament.

title: “Ontario Government Passes Controversial Long Term Care Bill Without Public Input Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-18” author: “Shelley Vargas”

The government has faced criticism for the vague wording of the legislation and for choosing not to send the draft bill to committee – meaning no public feedback was gathered before it was passed. None of the opposition parties supported the bill. Long-term care minister Paul Calandra said the government moved to bypass the committee phase because of the urgent need to free up acute care beds in hospitals, which have faced unprecedented pressure in recent months, mainly due to a shortage of nurses. Calandra said sending patients who need an “alternative level of care” to long-term care homes will help ease that burden. According to the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), there were 5,930 alternative level of care patients — those judged to no longer need acute care — in the hospital as of Aug. 17, of which 40 per cent were waiting for a space in long-term care. The new legislation does not allow patients to be physically forced to move to a long-term care home, but it is unclear what will happen if a patient refuses the move. Critics said a patient who won’t be moved could be forced to pay the uninsured hospital stay rate, which can be as high as $1,800 a day. Speaking Tuesday, however, Premier Doug Ford said an $1,800 charge under those circumstances would be “absolutely ridiculous,” but said hospitals and Ontario Health are looking at what the charge amount might be. “We’re going to have to figure a cost, and the hospitals have to figure the cost,” he said. “People determine it — it’s not me personally … But I can guarantee you it’s not going to be $1,800.” Another unanswered question is how far from their homes patients will be able to move under the bill’s parameters. The opposition NDP and Liberals have repeatedly claimed that in northern Ontario, patients could be moved up to 300 kilometers from their homes. Meanwhile, patients in most of southern Ontario could be up to 100 kilometers away and those in cities up to 30 kilometers from their homes. Calandra and his ministry declined to provide specific information about the distances, saying those elements of the legislation were still under discussion with stakeholders. Calandra said, however, that every effort will be made to keep patients “as close as possible” to their families and support systems. The minister has promised that regulations supporting Bill 7, called the More Beds, Better Care Act, will be presented to the legislature within a week of the bill being passed. The legislation is part of a wider plan first announced two weeks ago by Health Secretary Sylvia Jones to help reduce pressures on the health care system. The proposed changes aim to hire more health professionals, free up hospital beds and reduce waiting lists for surgery. Anthony Dale, OHA president and CEO, previously told CBC Toronto that he supported the passage of the law, noting that the current number of alternative care patients is the highest the province has ever seen. Dale said capacity challenges affect all patients, including those who need urgent care, surgery and diagnostics. “Ontario hospitals are quickly becoming the health care provider of last resort for thousands of people who really need access to home care, long-term care and other services. This is not appropriate for these patients,” he said. Neither Calandra nor Health Minister Sylvia Jones were available to answer questions from the media after Wednesday’s meeting in parliament.

title: “Ontario Government Passes Controversial Long Term Care Bill Without Public Input Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-10” author: “Winston Ingram”

The government has faced criticism for the vague wording of the legislation and for choosing not to send the draft bill to committee – meaning no public feedback was gathered before it was passed. None of the opposition parties supported the bill. Long-term care minister Paul Calandra said the government moved to bypass the committee phase because of the urgent need to free up acute care beds in hospitals, which have faced unprecedented pressure in recent months, mainly due to a shortage of nurses. Calandra said sending patients who need an “alternative level of care” to long-term care homes will help ease that burden. According to the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), there were 5,930 alternative level of care patients — those judged to no longer need acute care — in the hospital as of Aug. 17, of which 40 per cent were waiting for a space in long-term care. The new legislation does not allow patients to be physically forced to move to a long-term care home, but it is unclear what will happen if a patient refuses the move. Critics said a patient who won’t be moved could be forced to pay the uninsured hospital stay rate, which can be as high as $1,800 a day. Speaking Tuesday, however, Premier Doug Ford said an $1,800 charge under those circumstances would be “absolutely ridiculous,” but said hospitals and Ontario Health are looking at what the charge amount might be. “We’re going to have to figure a cost, and the hospitals have to figure the cost,” he said. “People determine it — it’s not me personally … But I can guarantee you it’s not going to be $1,800.” Another unanswered question is how far from their homes patients will be able to move under the bill’s parameters. The opposition NDP and Liberals have repeatedly claimed that in northern Ontario, patients could be moved up to 300 kilometers from their homes. Meanwhile, patients in most of southern Ontario could be up to 100 kilometers away and those in cities up to 30 kilometers from their homes. Calandra and his ministry declined to provide specific information about the distances, saying those elements of the legislation were still under discussion with stakeholders. Calandra said, however, that every effort will be made to keep patients “as close as possible” to their families and support systems. The minister has promised that regulations supporting Bill 7, called the More Beds, Better Care Act, will be presented to the legislature within a week of the bill being passed. The legislation is part of a wider plan first announced two weeks ago by Health Secretary Sylvia Jones to help reduce pressures on the health care system. The proposed changes aim to hire more health professionals, free up hospital beds and reduce waiting lists for surgery. Anthony Dale, OHA president and CEO, previously told CBC Toronto that he supported the passage of the law, noting that the current number of alternative care patients is the highest the province has ever seen. Dale said capacity challenges affect all patients, including those who need urgent care, surgery and diagnostics. “Ontario hospitals are quickly becoming the health care provider of last resort for thousands of people who really need access to home care, long-term care and other services. This is not appropriate for these patients,” he said. Neither Calandra nor Health Minister Sylvia Jones were available to answer questions from the media after Wednesday’s meeting in parliament.

title: “Ontario Government Passes Controversial Long Term Care Bill Without Public Input Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-28” author: “Daniel Mitchell”

The government has faced criticism for the vague wording of the legislation and for choosing not to send the draft bill to committee – meaning no public feedback was gathered before it was passed. None of the opposition parties supported the bill. Long-term care minister Paul Calandra said the government moved to bypass the committee phase because of the urgent need to free up acute care beds in hospitals, which have faced unprecedented pressure in recent months, mainly due to a shortage of nurses. Calandra said sending patients who need an “alternative level of care” to long-term care homes will help ease that burden. According to the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), there were 5,930 alternative level of care patients — those judged to no longer need acute care — in the hospital as of Aug. 17, of which 40 per cent were waiting for a space in long-term care. The new legislation does not allow patients to be physically forced to move to a long-term care home, but it is unclear what will happen if a patient refuses the move. Critics said a patient who won’t be moved could be forced to pay the uninsured hospital stay rate, which can be as high as $1,800 a day. Speaking Tuesday, however, Premier Doug Ford said an $1,800 charge under those circumstances would be “absolutely ridiculous,” but said hospitals and Ontario Health are looking at what the charge amount might be. “We’re going to have to figure a cost, and the hospitals have to figure the cost,” he said. “People determine it — it’s not me personally … But I can guarantee you it’s not going to be $1,800.” Another unanswered question is how far from their homes patients will be able to move under the bill’s parameters. The opposition NDP and Liberals have repeatedly claimed that in northern Ontario, patients could be moved up to 300 kilometers from their homes. Meanwhile, patients in most of southern Ontario could be up to 100 kilometers away and those in cities up to 30 kilometers from their homes. Calandra and his ministry declined to provide specific information about the distances, saying those elements of the legislation were still under discussion with stakeholders. Calandra said, however, that every effort will be made to keep patients “as close as possible” to their families and support systems. The minister has promised that regulations supporting Bill 7, called the More Beds, Better Care Act, will be presented to the legislature within a week of the bill being passed. The legislation is part of a wider plan first announced two weeks ago by Health Secretary Sylvia Jones to help reduce pressures on the health care system. The proposed changes aim to hire more health professionals, free up hospital beds and reduce waiting lists for surgery. Anthony Dale, OHA president and CEO, previously told CBC Toronto that he supported the passage of the law, noting that the current number of alternative care patients is the highest the province has ever seen. Dale said capacity challenges affect all patients, including those who need urgent care, surgery and diagnostics. “Ontario hospitals are quickly becoming the health care provider of last resort for thousands of people who really need access to home care, long-term care and other services. This is not appropriate for these patients,” he said. Neither Calandra nor Health Minister Sylvia Jones were available to answer questions from the media after Wednesday’s meeting in parliament.