Ontario’s Health Minister says it is unacceptable knowing that some home care patients are not getting needed supplies.
Some reports suggest patients are being directed to emergency rooms and medical professionals are pilfering from other departments.
Sylvia Jones says she has directed Ontario Health atHome to ensure patients and clinicians are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.
“We have been working with Ontario Health athome to ensure that no patients, no patients’ families, no clinicians are impacted by a logistics issue,” says Jones.
“I want to assure the people of Ontario that we have been on this issue since we first learned that there were shortages being delivered. But I also want to remind people that we know this is unacceptable, and we are not going to allow this to continue.”
At the same time, Jones has named former federal Liberal Health Minister Jane Philpott to a committee tasked with ensuring every Ontarian has access to a family physician within five years.
Jones says Ontario already has the best rate of access in the country.
“Ninety percent, leading Canada, 90% of Ontario residents have access and are connected to a primary care practitioner.”
“We’re not stopping there. That’s why we are doing the expansions in our medical schools. That’s why we are doing the expansion in our residency positions. We are doing the work to make sure in the short, the medium and the long term, we will have capacity in the province of Ontario.”
According to the Ministry of Health, Philpott will help establish an action plan to further expand team-based primary health care.
A team approach involving other health-care providers is something that the Ontario Medical Association is supportive.
It notes that 2.5 million Ontarians currently do not have access to a doctor.
