Pressure mounts for more answers on Ford government's controversial long-term care bill
CBC
The Ford government is facing mounting pressure to clarify how a new piece of health-care legislation could affect Ontario families, since it would allow hospital patients to be moved to a long-term care facility not of their choosing or potentially face hefty daily fees.
The spotlight comes just as the government moved a motion to advance the bill directly to third reading — which means it will not be considered by committee or subject to public hearing at that stage.
Long-term Care Minister Paul Calandra tabled Bill 7 last week. The legislation would give hospitals the authority to temporarily move patients no longer needing acute care into long-term care homes chosen by a placement co-ordinator. Hospitals would be required to make "reasonable efforts" to obtain patient consent, but the text of the bill says it could be done without consent if necessary.
The legislation has come under scrutiny this week from opposition parties and some health-care experts, who have raised concerns about its vague wording and questioned how it could ultimately impact patients and their families.
"The government has provided no clarity. And they are talking about moving people, possibly far away from their families and their support. You know, we're not moving livestock around here, it's not cattle. They are people. They are vulnerable," said interim Liberal Leader John Fraser at Queen's Park this morning.
Fraser and fellow Liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji held a news conference to air their own concerns about Bill 7 and encourage the Progressive Conservative government to withdraw the bill as it is written.
"It is actually cruel that the government is being so damn vague. There is no reason for it," Fraser said.
An especially controversial element of the legislation is exactly what steps hospitals could take if patients refuse to be transferred to a long-term care home not of their choosing. The legislation doesn't allow patients to be physically forced to move, but it's not clear what would happen if a patient refuses a transfer.
In an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Thursday, Dr. Samir Sinha, head of geriatrics at Sinai Health and the University Health Network in Toronto, explained how the current system works.
Patients list several long-term care homes they would consent to move to after they no longer require hospital care, he said. If the patient is accepted into one of those facilities, but cannot be moved right away, the hospital will charge about $62 per day for the interim period, the same co-pay amount the patient would face in long-term care.
If a patient deemed no longer in need of acute care refuses to move after being accepted to one of their preferred long-term care choices, Sinha continued, a hospital can formally discharge them and bill the uninsured daily rate. This can be $1,500 or more per day.
Unclear from the existing text of the legislation, however, is if a long-term care facility chosen by a placement co-ordinator for a patient then becomes a preferred choice, even if the patient has no interest in going there.
CBC Toronto has reached out the Ministry of Long-term Care for more information.
During a scrum at Queen's Park Wednesday, Calandra endorsed hospitals charging uninsured daily rates to patients who refuse to be transferred to a facility of their choice, saying the beds are needed for others.
Commuters hoping to escape the cold by travelling on Line 6 will need to think again, as train service is down Friday morning.
Halim Rahim has lived in Canada for almost four years, but says he’s never experienced a winter like this.
For Lindsay Gillan, walking her dog, Daisy, twice a day in Charlottetown’s Victoria Park is a treasured routine that benefits both her physical and mental health.
Whitehorse city council has postponed its decision on an overhaul of its zoning bylaws that would, among other things, introduce short-term rental regulations in the city.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has reached a deal with China to allow tens of thousands of Chinese electric vehicles into the country in exchange for lower canola duties.
The Federal Court of Appeal is expected to give its decision Friday morning on whether the Liberal government unlawfully invoked the Emergencies Act to clear the convoy protests that gridlocked the capital city and border points nearly four years ago.
WARNING: This article describes allegations of sexual assault.
The average time for a 911 caller to connect with an operator is down to three seconds so far this year, according to Toronto police.
Emergency crews across southwestern Ontario kept busy on Thursday, responding to dozens of collisions, as a steady stream of snow squalls blanketed the region with as much as 30 centimetres of snow, prompting widespread school closures.
Woody Point — a picturesque community on Newfoundland's west coast — is reeling after the loss of what was a pillar of local business in the town for over 70 years.
A New Brunswick Mountie testified he punched a woman in the face twice, but only because she had punched him while he tried to arrest her.
The City of Winnipeg is halting work to clean up the Manwin Hotel site following a Wednesday fire, after officials determined there was asbestos in the rubble.
A Saskatoon judge has now heard about the hours just before and after Taya Sinclair's death.