Cuts to home care a myth

Posted on November 24, 2014 in Health Delivery System

TheStar.com – Opinion/Readers’ Letters – Re: Staggering cost of slashing home care funds, Opinion Nov. 20
Nov 24 2014.   Dr. Eric Hoskins

I was disappointed to read Bob Hepburn’s column where he incorrectly accused the provincial government of making a “wave of cuts” to home care. This couldn’t be further from the truth — this year our government is investing an additional $270 million in home care for people in communities across the province.

This substantial expansion of home care will help seniors and others receive care in their homes — where they want to receive it — rather than in a hospital. It has the benefit of providing better care for Ontarians, and providing better value for tax dollars. It’s a win-win for patients and for our health care system.

Our investments are also helping us meet our commitment to reduce home care wait-times to less than five days, a commitment we made in last year’s budget. I’m proud that we’re meeting that target for 93 per cent of Ontarians.

The supposed “cuts” that Mr. Hepburn points to in communities like Windsor are not cuts at all. The Community Care Access Centre for Erie St. Clair — which provides home care to seniors in Windsor — has actually received an increase in funding of $3 million this year. Since 2003, their funding has nearly doubled to over $132 million.

But we know there’s still more work to do as we expand home care in Ontario. To help us improve the quality and value of home and community care, our government asked Gail Donner to lead a team of experts to report back in the new year.

I’m looking forward to their advice as we continue to provide more care for Ontarians where they want it most—at home and in the community.

Dr. Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Toronto

< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editors/2014/11/24/cuts_to_home_care_a_myth.html >

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2 Responses to “Cuts to home care a myth”

  1. Vera says:

    Then start mean testing home care. I have 100K income neighbours sitting in million dollar houses getting 20K in “free” home care. It’s ridiculous. They all could easily afford to pay for the nurse to come in or how about be proactive and do what I will do, if I need hip or knee surgery I will prebook ahead of time to do recovery in a seniors residence. People whine and whine but don’t want to pay. Many third party plans cover 80% of the cost but they want to pay NOTHING. Boomers won’t be getting the service today’s seniors get and will have no choice but to pay.

  2. Marilyn says:

    Dr. Hoskins is out of touch and must be listening to the senior staff at the CCAC’s and LIHN’s as there are definitely cuts to services. I work as a geriatric nurse in a busy ER and seniors are not getting the services they need to remain in the community ,they are waitlisted. I have seen severely ill people d/c from hospital and told they must go to a clinic for any type of nursing service most can’t walk let alone get to a clinic. What the governments and senior leaders and the LIHN have work towards is a privatization of homecare services especially for the elderly. They have created the “BRAND” of aging at home with the delusion that they are actually providing the services to do this , they are not. It would seem that the funding is going to expand the ever increasing senior leaders wages and also creating assessment tools that do not allow service to be given. It is shameful, no complex continuing care, no palliative care, no LTC and Home First philosophy’s at hospitals that move these poor vulnerable people back into the community with no care. Dr. Hoskins is not talking to the right people.

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