I’m happy to be here today to speak on this pressing issue. I’m here today to speak on the More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022. This bill amends the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021, by adding provisions for patients who occupy beds in a public hospital and are deemed to be requiring an alternate level of care. This proposed amendment is part of a broader strategy from our government to ensure recovery and stability in the Ontario health system.

Health care has many moving parts—primary care, acute care, long-term care, health care human resources, and, most importantly, the patient—all of which need to work together to deliver the most appropriate care to our most vulnerable in their time of need. When one or more of these parts are misaligned, it puts a strain on the whole system. In normal times, these strains can be tolerated. COVID-19 showed clearly that we have some long-standing issues that can no longer be ignored.

This government has responded with an actionable plan to secure an improved health care system. The Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recovery outlines five key initiatives to provide the best possible care for Ontarians while keeping the province open and thriving. The More Beds, Better Care Act amendment to the Fixing Long-Term Care Act is one of those specific actions aimed at delivering better care and increasing health care capacity through making the most appropriate use of health care resources.

When a person’s recovery has progressed to the point where they no longer require the specialized services of an acute-care hospital, they are normally discharged to home if they are well enough, or to long-term care if additional assistance is required. Those patients who qualify for discharge but are waiting for their preferred long-term-care residence end up staying in hospital. These patients are characterized as alternate-level-of-care, or ALC, patients.

As mentioned, health care is a system of parts that must work together. An ALC patient is occupying a bed in an acute-care hospital when that bed is needed for incoming patients. This creates backups throughout the system. It is most visible when a patient spends too long in an ER bed waiting for in-patient admission. It is less obvious when a surgery gets cancelled because a recovery bed isn’t available.

Yesterday, in my riding of Burlington, there were 10 in-patient beds that were occupied by ALC patients at Joseph Brant Hospital. Last year at this time, 20 beds were occupied by ALC patients. Those are beds that are not available to patients in the ER or to patients who will need a recovery bed after a surgery.

Speaker, nobody wants to stay in a hospital a moment longer than necessary, but they need a place to go, one that provides quality of life and meets their needs. ALC bed occupancy is not a new problem. Hospitals have been raising this issue for decades.

COVID-19 has brought this problem to a new level. We have two years’ worth of pent-up surgeries, and we need to be prepared for a possible fall surge of new COVID cases. We need the beds available, and we need front-line health care staff focused on the sickest of patients.

Previous governments have ignored the problem and let the situation build. I’m proud to say this government is the first in Ontario to address the problem in a compassionate, proactive and practical manner. These actions are intended to provide more high-quality spaces for our patients. This amendment provides the tools necessary for physicians and staff to have compassionate conversations with ALC patients and their families about transitioning from hospital to a temporary long-term-care home while they wait for a space in their preferred home to become available.

The intent of this amendment is similar to those of other provinces in Canada, such as British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia. We recognize that the decision to transition to temporary long-term-care homes can be a source of anxiety for patients and their families. We want to assure Ontarians that we are doing all we can do to alleviate that anxiety.

Our government has been working with partners, hospitals, long-term care, union leadership and experts to find the best solution. First, we have invested heavily to improve long-term-care homes in the province of Ontario. Our government is moving quickly on our commitment to build 30,000 new long-term-care beds and to redevelop thousands more across the province. We invested a total of $6.4 billion into the development of new homes and beds, and have 31,705 new and 28,648 upgraded beds in the pipeline. The commitment to build 30,000 new long-term-care beds in the province is the largest long-term-care building program in Canada, ever.

In my riding, 64 new beds are being added to the CAMA Woodlands Long Term Care Home. In Maple Villa Long Term Care Centre, 195 new beds are being added and another 93 beds are being redeveloped.

We have reinvested in more direct care. Before the government’s investments to increase direct care, patients were getti1ng 2.75 hours a day of direct care from registered nurses, registered practical nurses and personal support workers. Our government is investing $4.9 billion over four years to reach our commitment of an average of four hours of daily direct care per resident.

In Burlington alone, in my riding, we will receive more than $46 million in four-hour-care funding over the next four yea1rs and an additional 259 new beds and 93 redeveloped beds.

We are also training new PSWs for these homes. The Ministry o1f Colleges and Universities is working closely with the Ministries of Long-Term Care, Health and Education to bulk up the PSW workforce by addressing recruitment, retention and training initiatives. This ensures that PSWs are available to meet resident needs.

As part of the plan to stay open and based on the advice of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, we are right-sizing the number of isolation beds based on community demand and COVID-19 risk levels. There will be 300 long-term-care beds that will now be safely available for use, and the potential for 1,000 more beds in the next six months.

Second, patients do not need to worry that accepting a temporary placement in one home will cause them to lose their place in line for their preferred residence. We will work with our front-line partners on placement guidelines that will ensure patients stay close to their loved ones and that no one is out of pocket for any cost difference between their temporary home placement and the cost of their preferred home.

Third, this amendment includes provisions that temporary placements will have the skills and the facilities—