The spotlight comes just as the government moved a motion to take the bill straight to third reading – meaning it will not be considered by committee or subject to a public hearing at that stage. Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra tabled Bill 7 last week. The legislation would give hospitals the power to temporarily transfer patients who no longer need acute care to long-term care homes selected by a placement coordinator. Hospitals would have to make “reasonable efforts” to obtain the patient’s consent, but the text of the bill says it could be done without consent if necessary. The legislation came under scrutiny this week from opposition parties and some health experts, who raised concerns about its vague wording and questioned how it could ultimately affect patients and their families. “The government hasn’t given any clarity. And they’re talking about moving people, possibly away from their families and their support. You know, we’re not moving animals here, they’re not cattle. They’re people. They’re vulnerable,” the interim Liberal leader said. John Fraser at Queen’s Park this morning. Fraser and fellow Liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji held a press conference to voice their own concerns about Bill 7 and encourage the Progressive Conservative government to withdraw the bill as written. “It’s really cruel that the government is being so vague. There’s no reason for it,” Fraser said. Interim Liberal leader John Fraser called on the Progressive Conservatives to either hold committee hearings on the bill or withdraw it. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press) The bill is part of a wider plan first announced two weeks ago by Health Secretary Sylvia Jones to help reduce pressures on the health care system. The proposed changes are aimed at hiring more health professionals, freeing up hospital beds and reducing surgery waiting lists as emergency departments across the province close their doors for hours or days at a time due to staff shortages. One particularly controversial element of the legislation is what steps hospitals could take if patients refuse to be transferred to a long-term care home they don’t choose. The law does not allow patients to be physically forced to move, but it is unclear what happens if a patient refuses to be transported.

How hospitals can charge patients

In an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Thursday, Dr. Samir Sinha, chief of geriatrics at Sinai Health and University Health Network in Toronto, explained how the current system works. Patients list several long-term care homes they would be willing to move to after they no longer need hospital care, he said. If the patient is admitted to one of these facilities but can’t be transferred right away, the hospital will charge about $62 a day for the interim period, the same copayment amount the patient would face in long-term care.
If a patient deemed no longer in need of acute care refuses to consider alternative facilities for care or moves after being admitted to one of the preferred long-term care options, a hospital network spokesman added, a hospital can formally issue him and bill him. uninsured daily rate. This can be $1,500 or more per day. “Often, discussing the cost of staying in an acute care bed is enough to start the conversations needed to support someone in a [alternate level of care] environment,” said UHN Senior Public Affairs Advisor Rosa Kim. Metro Morning8:15 Charging elderly patients to leave their hospital beds for long-term care will leave vulnerable people behind: Dr. Samir Sinha Dr. Samir Sinha is Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health and University Health Network. Unclear from the existing text of the legislation, however, is whether a long-term care facility selected by a placement coordinator for a patient then becomes a preferred choice, even if the patient has no interest in going there. CBC Toronto has reached out to the Ministry of Long-Term Care for more information. During a rally at Queen’s Park on 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. “If someone refuses to move into a home, if someone refuses to move into a home of their choice, then yes, should a hospital charge them? Absolutely. Because we need these spaces for acute care patients. We need them for surgery. , we need them for emergencies,” he told reporters. Fraser said the looming threat of a steep bill should not be used to force patients into long-term care homes they did not choose. “The government needs to say – unequivocally – that this will not happen,” he said.

What’s next?

The bill is currently in second reading. No committee meetings are scheduled to gather public input on this. Sinha said he is already hearing from concerned patients and their families about what the bill might mean for them moving forward. “They’re scared. They’re worried,” Sinha told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Thursday. Because the proposed bill could theoretically transfer patients to long-term care facilities not of their choice, without their consent, or face overwhelming daily fees, it would leave many families in “horrible situations,” Sinha said. “This will only strain relationships and create less trust between healthcare professionals and their patients, between hospitals and patients.”