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Ontario hospital patients to be charged $400 a day for refusing temporary long-term care placements
Posted: September 15, 2022
(September 14, 2022)
By: Durham Radio News
According to the provincial government, if you are a hospital patient waiting for a spot in long-term care, you can be charged for refusing a home that is not of your choosing.
Anyone who refuses will face a daily fine of $400.
In southern Ontario, you can be moved up to 70 kilometres away. In the northern parts of the province, that distance goes up to 150 kilometres.
The new policy comes into effect on September 21.
Couples will not be separated, according to officials. Certain preferences, on religious and language grounds, will reportedly be respected.
Patients can be moved without consent because of Bill 7, which allows health planners to determine how ready they are for long-term care. The idea is for the patient to stay in a temporary home until a spot opens up at a home of their choosing.
Ontario has been contending with low staffing and temporary ICU closures. Bill 7 was pitched to free up beds in the hospital sector.
The legislation has come under fire from a number of advocacy groups. The Ontario Health Coalition has argued the bill could put patients into low-standard homes, affecting their health and quality of life.
In August, news broke that Bill 7 would be skipping a public hearing stage. It received royal assent at the end of the month.
