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Aging at Home or Waiting at Home? Hospital bed cuts


The Ontario government withdrew funding for 30 ALC beds at the Memorial site of the Health Sciences North hospital in Sudbury.  

The Sudbury Star reports that since the beds closed, the hospital has re-opened 6 or 7 beds at the Memorial site, paid for out of the hospital's own funds.  In addition, the number of ALC patients at another site of the hospital has increased from 44 to 77 -- an increase of 33. On Friday, 18 people admitted to emergency were lying in cots awaiting a bed.

The result?  The hospital is now designated in 'crisis' and to get it out of crisis, hospital patients will be given priority over people waiting at home for long term care beds. 

The hospital beds for ALC seniors, the Star reports, cost $600-$700 per day -- more than twice the cost of ALC beds at Memorial.  

The hospital is stuck paying this it seems while trying to eliminate a $9 million deficit by September 2012.

It doesn’t sound like the government’s plan to cut costs by shutting down hospital beds is working in Sudbury.  ALC patients are taking up  more expensive hospital beds and the hospital has been forced into crisis.


The government says its cuts are to provide better care for patients at home.  In this case, what it really means is that patients in their homes will simply have to wait longer for a LTC bed. 


The Liberal government plans to cut another 30 beds at the Memorial site next spring, as part of their reform plans.  
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Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 18, 2012 at 3:15 PM

    Is there no end to the insanity. It's like they're playing musical chairs with the hospital beds......when the music stops we take away another bed....and the patient goes where? They should call the program Dying At Home.

    Pat Scholfield

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 17, 2012 at 9:53 PM

    You know I think the Seniors are the ones who are getting a raw deal. They came before us, faught for us, and are now not reaping any of the benefits.

    To say that the individuals who are waiting for placement in LTC is the biggest reason for the hospitals deficit is ridiculous.

    Did you know...


    If the individual waiting for placement, has semi-private coverage and is in a semi-private room, the hospital is charging the insurance company $210.00 a day for the semi-private room. PLUS as soon as an individual signs with CCAC to apply for placement in a LTC facility, that individual has to pay a co-payment charge of $53.23 a day (increasing to $54.) out of their pocket, until that individual is placed. That amount is what the individual would pay if he were in a basic room in a Long Term Care Facility.

    ReplyDelete

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