Monday, January 14, 2013
Helping Older Ontarians Get Home Sooner
Ontario is helping seniors transition home sooner from the hospital while also providing higher levels of care to long-term care residents with complex needs.
Post-hospital, restorative care will be provided through 250 more short-stay beds in long-term care homes across the province - a 50 per cent increase - helping about 1,500 seniors annually. This will help older Ontarians who require additional care after hospital treatment to return home sooner
Ontario is also making new investments to provide higher levels of care to long-term care residents by:
- Training 200 personal support workers to help care for residents with dementia and challenging behaviours
- Improving resident safety, quality of care and abuse prevention through new staff training and development
- Providing specialized supplies and equipment for patients with complex needs
These new measures respond to recommendations that relate to the changing needs of Ontario's long-term care environment from Dr. Samir Sinha's recently-released report on seniors and to the recommendations of the Long-Term Care Task Force on Resident Care and Safety.
Investing in long-term care will help ensure Ontario residents have access to the right care, at the right time and in the right place, which is a key commitment of the McGuinty government's Action Plan for Health Care.
Quick Facts
- Convalescent care beds are short-stay beds that provide care to people who need time to recover strength, endurance and functioning following treatment in a hospital or from the community.
- Funding for long-term care has increased from $2.12 billion in 2003/04 to $3.76 billion in 2012/13.
- The Long-Term Care Homes Act came into force on July 1, 2010 and is now the single legislative authority for safeguarding resident rights, improving the quality of care and improving the accountability of long-term care homes for the care, treatment and well-being of residents.
- The McGuinty government has created over 9,200 new long-term beds since 2003.
Quotes
We’re listening to Dr. Sinha’s advice with new measures to transform the role that our long-term care homes play in Ontario’s health care system. They are helping more seniors transition back to their homes, to where they want to be, while also providing a higher level of care to those residents with complex needs."
Deb Matthews
Minister of Health and Long Term Care
With the number of older Ontarians expected to double over the next 20 years, we need to take steps today to address current and future needs of them in our long-term care homes. Today’s announcement will help us do just that. It will help more older Ontarians get home, where they want to be, while ensuring that those of them who require a higher level of care have access to the care and resources they require as they age."
Dr. Samir Sinha
I am particularly pleased to see the government’s investment in Behavioural Supports Ontario, staff training and development. These are measures the Long-Term Care Task Force felt were very important in contributing to reducing incidents of abuse and neglect in long term care homes."
Donna Fairley
Executive Director, Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils
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