This news release was issued May 19, 2018, by the NDP on behalf of Sudbury candidate Jamie West and Nickel Belt candidate France Gélinas
SAULT ST. MARIE – Hope is in sight for seniors and their families waiting for long-term care beds in Sault Ste. Marie, with Andrea Horwath announcing Saturday that she will add 600 beds in the community.
Horwath’s vision will see the NDP put the Sault at the top of the long-term care priority list. The 600-bed commitment is part of her plan to add 15,000 new long-term care beds province-wide over five years and 40,000 over 10 years.
“Two years is far too long to wait for Sault Ste. Marie seniors and the families that love them,” said Horwath. “Seniors often wait without the daily support they need to protect their health and safety – and the worry their families cope with during that time can be immense. We can do better to get people into a home that offers the care they need, when they need it.”
Sault Ste. Marie has 1,030 long-term care beds, and 587 people on the wait list for initial placement. The Sault Area Hospital and North East Local Health Integration Network say at least 449 new beds will be needed by 2021.
The problems began with the last Conservative government, which made deep cuts to health care and front-line health care staff – then Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals let Sault families down by squeezing care even more.
Now, Doug Ford’s plan to cut $6 billion across the board – impacting seniors care, health care and so much more – threatens to make the problem much worse.
Horwath has a different plan. Her plan to create more long-term care beds is alongside her commitment to a long-term care public inquiry into the conditions in care homes, and her plan to ensure all care homes give each resident a minimum of four hours of hands-on care per day.
“Seniors in the Sault and across Ontario don’t have to keep settling for long waits, and should never have to settle for a home where their health, dignity and even their safety is at risk,” said Horwath.
“We can stop the squeeze on long-term care, and give our aging parents and grandparents the care they deserve.”
In addition to addressing the wait lists and conditions plaguing long-term care, the NDP’s Change for the Better platform helps seniors age in place and maintain their health by:
• Investing in home care and eliminating wait lists for personal support services
• Stopping cuts to local hospitals, ensuring seniors can get the services they need close to home
• Allowing seniors to defer property taxes until they sell their home, making life more affordable
• Extending publicly-funded dental care to every senior who doesn’t have retiree benefits
Horwath’s fully-costed platform can be found at ontariondp.ca/platform.
