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Showing posts from March, 2015

Why long-term care needs to improve

CUPE and OCHU are campaigning for a legislated minimum average of four worked hours of nursing and personal care per resident per day in long-term care (LTC) facilities. Key points:  [1] The relevant population is increasing rapidly; [2] New beds are not being created at the same pace; [3] Resident acuity and impairment are increasing; [4] Increasing acuity requires more care; [5] The province of Ontario provides less funding and less care than other provinces; [6] Expert research supports our proposal; [7] The experience of CUPE members in the homes provides some of the most compelling evidence of the need for more care.  History:  In the past, Ontario did have a standard of care, but it was taken away by the Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government.  At the time of its abolition the standard was insufficient – it was set at only 2.25 hours per resident per day.  Since that time the homes have changed dramatically: residents are much more impaired. The Ontario He

Cascading cuts result in new home care restructuring

The government is coordinating cascading efforts to move patients from organizations where more care is provided to where less care is provided.   For hospitals, government funding models and directives have long focused on removing less ill patients.  In long term care homes, the government quietly raised the criteria for eligibility for the waiting list. They also stopped providing the 'case mix measure' which was the key measure of the increasing illness and acuity of long term care residents. Regardless it is now obvious acuity in the homes is rising rapidly. But these restrictions on eligibility to hospital and long term care homes have also dramatically increased demand for home care services provided by Community Care Access Centres (CCACs).  CCACs are facing both more demand and much more ill patients.  The CCACs claim  the number of their high care need patients have increased 73% between 2009/10 and 2013/14. As a percentage of total patients, high car