August 17th, 2022

NDP responds to report Ford plans to send patients waiting in hospitals to distant long-term care homes apparently without consent

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP Health critic France Gélinas released the following statement in response to a CityNews report that revealed Premier Doug Ford’s government is planning legislation that could shunt people into long-term care homes outside of their community, apparently without their consent or the consent of their loved ones:

“Premier Doug Ford is hurting one patient to help another with this scheme. This is not how we treat people in Ontario.

I am worried for the families who will be separated from a loved one. I am worried for the seniors who will be sent far from their spouse, their essential caregivers, their grandchildren, and everything that's familiar to them.

Ford's scheme to send vulnerable seniors far from home doesn’t hire a single doctor, or retain a single nurse.

What the government needs to do is undertake a massive effort to recruit, hire, train and retain and respect health care workers with better pay, strong incentives and better working conditions."