Hospitals welcome new policy that could free up bed capacity

As capacity pressures increase, hospitals welcome a new policy that provides more options to move patients into long-term care homes, even if their preferred spots haven't opened up.

"It's not going to solve the problems at all, but it's one thing we can be doing to help us gain back some amount of capacity," said Arden Krystal, CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre.

Southlake is one of the most congested hospitals in the province.

Its CEO said around 25 seniors requiring an alternate level of care (ALC) are currently on a waitlist for a long-term care home, with the majority already waiting up to a year or longer.

"When you consider the number of days those people wait, it's significantly more than the other ALC patients," said Krystal.

According to the Ontario Hospital Association, more than 6,000 ALC patients are in the province, with 40 per cent currently on a waitlist.

The regulations, which came into effect Wednesday, would see seniors discharged and sent as far away as 70 kilometres in southern Ontario and up to 150 in the north or face a bill of $400 daily for those who refuse.

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Although if they move, the province said seniors would still keep their spot on the waitlist of their preferred choice.

It's a move the government said could free up to 400 hospital beds.

"We have a specific obligation to those who are acutely ill, and those waiting in our hospital are also by in large elderly," said Krystal. "In a perfect world, we would want everybody to swiftly move to the type of service that is right for them. Unfortunately, we are in a constraint system and have been for some time."

At the same time, critics say the policy violates seniors' rights, pushing them further into isolation as long-term care homes face growing pressures.

"We saw what it meant not to have family caregivers help, and we also know that people deteriorate physically and mentally, and this is actually going to cause deaths," said Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge.

Krystal said when it comes to moving seniors into long-term care homes, the hospital prioritizes placing someone close to friends and family or other supports in their community as possible.

"Southlake is gathering a working group of internal and external partners-in-care as well as patients and family advisors to help inform our local approach," Southlake noted in a post on social media.

In a statement, Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) said it's rare for patients to refuse a long-term care bed when offered to them. The statement noted the hospital would use a collaborative, compassionate and coordinated approach as Ontario implements Bill 7.

"When a third of RVH's beds are occupied by patients who do not need to be in the hospital, it creates gridlock throughout the health centre. When there are no beds available, sick admitted patients lie on stretchers in the Emergency Department and wait times in the ED grow longer for patients to be seen and treated. It can mean that surgeries can't be performed because there are no beds for patients to recover. This initiative is meant to free up beds for patients requiring surgery and allows for Emergency room patients to be admitted sooner," said Gail Hunt, RVH President and CEO.

Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital (OSMH) stated, "Like many hospitals, OSMH has struggled to meet care demands over the past several months, and legislation such as Bill 7 is important to ease the strain on the system." It also said it would work closely with patients, caregivers and health system partners to ensure a collaborative and compassionate approach.

Charges for turning down spots in long-term care will come on Nov. 20.