LONDON, Ont. – There are hundreds of ill, elderly or socially isolated people in London, Grey Bruce and other communities in southwestern Ontario who need home care but aren’t getting it, said Fred Hahn, President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario at a London media conference today.
“We want to hear from patients needing home care. Please call our home care hotline at 1-888-599-0770. Tell us your story,” said CUPE Ontario’s Heather Duff who is also a community care access worker.
Although the provincial government has made home and community care the cornerstone of their health reforms, funding for home care is not keeping pace with the increasing demand for services. Last year the Southwest Community Care Access Centre (SWCCAC) experienced a 33 per cent increase in referrals for services.
We also know that hundreds of area patients are being denied home care under new qualifying rules, said Hahn. In fact, he said, CCACs from eastern Ontario to London and Windsor and other parts of the southwest are cutting care for patients in every category.
New criteria to qualify for care, is so high that only the sickest of the sick are qualifying for care, said Duff. 85 per cent of the SWCCAC budget goes to people with complex medical conditions.
“These are the very patients who just a few years ago would be receiving 24-7 care in hospitals through chronic care beds. But thousands of these beds have been closed,” said Hahn. “On top of that, it’s now harder to qualify for a long-term care (LTC) bed, which has resulted in thousands more vulnerable seniors needing care at home.”
Hahn stressed that the Liberals are making poor choices and costly blunders that are siphoning funding from needed patient care and health services.
In her recent annual report Ontario’s auditor general said that the Liberals paid an extra $8 billion for private infrastructure projects (including 40 hospitals) than it would have cost if the government had financed and managed the projects itself.
“That’s $8 billion that’s not going into home care and other patient care in hospitals and nursing homes,” said Hahn.
To reach as many patients affected by the cuts, CUPE Ontario will also be advertising the home care hotline number in the London and Grey/Bruce area media.
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For more information please contact:
Stella Yeadon, CUPE Ontario Communications, 416-559-9300
