The Ontario government has released the next phase of its “Plan to Stay Open” ahead of what they say will likely be a rise in respiratory illnesses in the next few months.
The plan focuses on “health-care system stability and recovery” and aims to add thousands of health-care workers and free up hospital beds. Officials say these additions will help reduce the burden on the broader health system, which has been severely strained over the last few months with staffing shortages.
“Historically, fall and winter are when cases of respiratory illnesses rise, putting strain on emergency departments, hospitals and the broader health system, including long-term care,” the 18-page document released on Thursday reads.
“This year will also include Omicron. In order to address current pressures, make more progress with surgical backlogs and be properly prepared for any upcoming winter surge, we need to do more.”
LONG-TERM CARE RESIDENTS TRANSFERRED TO ALTERNATIVE HOMES
The Progressive Conservative government will introduce legislation that will allow senior patients in hospital waiting to be placed in a long-term care home to be transferred to an alternative facility, potentially in a different community, until their preferred spot opens.
Officials say this new policy will free up 250 hospital beds in the first six months.
The government said there will be “mandatory guidelines” used to ensure patients remain close to their loved ones and that there are no additional costs; however, few details were provided as to what those guidelines entail.
Long-term care beds set aside for COVID-19 isolation will also become available by the end of the summer. Officials say this decision was made based on the advice of the chief medical officer of health and will free up 1,000 beds within six months.
They also hope to expand on a program that that allows paramedics to transport patients somewhere other than an emergency room or to treat them at the scene. The government says that a pilot program showed 94 per cent of patients avoided the emergency department in the days following treatment.
The plan specifies that these policies will “free up” or “make available” hospital beds rather than create new ones.
ADDING MORE HEALTH-CARE WORKERS
The PCs are pledging to add up to 6,000 more health-care workers to Ontario’s system.
To do this, the government will be temporarily covering the costs of examination, application and registration fees for internationally trained and retired nurses, something they say will reduce financial barriers and save workers about $1,500.
It is unclear how much this will cost taxpayers.
The “Plan to Stay Open” was put forward at the end of March as a strategy to “build a stronger, more resilient health system that is better prepared to respond to crisis.”
It included a permanent wage hike for personal support workers, the creation of two new medical schools, a financial investment in nursing programs, the shoring up of domestic production of personal protective equipment and the creation of 3,000 new hospital beds over the next decade.
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