Act 7, also known as “More Beds, Better Care,” allows for the temporary transfer of elderly patients waiting for space in a long-term care home to another home of their choice. It received royal assent at the end of August and comes into effect on September 21. Advocates have expressed concern that seniors will be moved to long-term care homes away from their family or charged exorbitant fees to stay in the hospital if they decide to decline the offer. As part of the new rules released on Wednesday evening, the government set firm guidelines for how far a patient can be moved. As of September 21, if there is no room in a discharged patient’s home of choice, they can be transferred to a home within a 70-km radius in southern Ontario or a 150-km radius in northern Ontario. If there is no long-term care home or if there is limited vacancy within that radius, placement coordinators can select the next closest home to the patient’s preferred location. Under the regulations, elderly patients can be moved to a home within a radius of 70 kilometers in Southern Ontario and 150 kilometers in Northern Ontario. If they refuse the place, the hospital is allowed to charge patients a daily fee of $400. Charges will begin 24 hours after discharge from November 20 and will apply to any discharged patient who refuses to leave hospital. Prior to these regulations, the maximum rate for alternative level of care (ALC) patients who chose to remain in hospital rather than move to one of five homes of their choice was $62.18 per day, or close to $1,900 per month. Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the $400 is intended to give families a strong incentive to agree to the move. “We chose $400 because we think it’s enough for people to have those challenging conversations with placement coordinators to make the effort, as a family, to discuss where we want our loved ones as they travel. next trip,” he said. “The bottom line is that acute care hospital beds should be for acute care patients.” The government said these restrictions were based on evidence from the health and long-term care sector. In a joint statement, the province’s health and long-term care ministers said the policy “frees up hospital beds so those waiting for surgeries can get them sooner,” while also reducing pressure on overcrowded emergency rooms. “This policy, developed using the best advice, will be implemented with compassion, always with a view to providing the best possible and most appropriate care to all Ontarians.” This is a developing story. More to come.
