Thank you to the member opposite for the description of all the huge challenges this government has inherited and that have been compounded because of COVID-19.

Assessments are required. These aren’t clinical assessments; it’s not the medical record being shared. It’s an assessment to determine the needs in long-term care and whether long-term care is appropriate. Parameters are in place. Consent is required for movement. Proximity to a preferred home is required. Care needs to be met are required, if needed—for example, behavioural supports. And also, they remain in the queue. They maintain their priority for their preferred home.

Why would you leave someone in a hospital setting inappropriate for their care and not move them to a long-term-care home appropriate for their care?

I’m glad that the member opened up saying that we have huge challenges in our health care system. I fully agree with you. We do have huge challenges in our health care system.

The clinical assessment requires access to your personal information. For anybody to do an assessment of you, you have to give consent, but in the bill, the bill takes away the hospital patients’ right to say whether they want this assessment or not. The bill takes that away.

When it comes to sharing personal information, the assessments that are done before you can be transferred are quite thorough. Not only do they look at your activities of daily living, they also look at your cognitive function, they look at all of your sicknesses, they look at all of the medications you take. This is all personal health information that you have to give consent to share. The consent has been taken away in that bill. That personal information will be shared with the long-term-care home without your consent.

If you have cognitive impairment and cannot give consent, the health care system usually goes to the power of attorney, who would give consent on your behalf, but the bill is explicit that both the patients themselves or the power of attorney do not need to give consent. That right is taken away from you. They will do the assessment whether you consent to it or not.