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New Emergency Measure Ensures Patients Receive High-Quality Care in the Right Setting

In response to the recent and rapid rise in hospitalizations, ICU admissions and the threat to the province’s critical care capacity, the Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, is taking further action to ensure hospital beds are available for COVID-19 patients in need of urgent care. To do so, the province is amending O. Reg. 272/21 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) to ensure patients receive quality care in the most appropriate setting during the third wave of the pandemic, driven by variants of concern.

This temporary emergency order will provide hospitals with the flexibility to transfer patients whose doctors have determined no longer require hospital care to long-term care or retirement homes without obtaining the consent of the patient or, where the patient is incapable, their substitute decision maker. The amended order can only be used during major surge events where the demand for critical care threatens to overwhelm a hospital and compromise care. Hundreds of individuals in hospital are waiting to be discharged to a long-term care home or another more appropriate care setting and first priority will be given to patients with less complex care needs and those who are able to be moved close to their preferred choice.

“The spread of COVID-19 variants continues to pose a significant threat to our health system’s critical care capacity and the lives of Ontarians,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “While this is an extremely difficult decision to make, the consequences of not doing so could be devastating if we don’t have the hospital beds we urgently need to care for the growing number of COVID-19 patients. Building on the more than 3,400 beds that have been added to the system since the beginning of the pandemic, our government will continue to take all necessary actions to ensure Ontarians have a safe place to be cared for in our hospitals.”

Hospitals may rely upon this order only when necessary to respond to a major surge event, when the attending physician is satisfied that the patient will receive the care they require at the long-term care or retirement home. Transfers will only be made when medical professionals are confident they will not compromise the patient’s medical condition, and where all of the other conditions specified within the order have been met including agreement by the home that they can meet the patient’s needs. Every effort will be made to ensure these patients are fully immunized from COVID-19 before moving.

Patients who are not placed in their first choice of long-term care or who are transferred to a retirement home will retain their priority on the long-term care waitlist for their first-choice home.

On April 23, 2021, the government waived the co-payment for hospital patients with a destination of long-term care who are transferred to a long-term care home that is not their first choice until they transfer to their first-choice home or decide to stay in their current home. Similarly, the retirement home’s care and accommodation costs to the individual will be waived until they receive a placement offer from their first-choice long-term care home. Funding will be provided to the retirement home from the government.

“Ontario’s retirement homes can provide a safe and welcoming environment with the vast majority of residents being fully vaccinated during Phase One of the province’s rollout,” said Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, Raymond Cho. “As we work together to support Ontario’s health network, retirement homes are well-positioned to assist by providing the appropriate level of care to patients in need.”

Ontario Government
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