The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario is is raising red flags when it comes to long term care funding in the province.
President Carol Timmings says too many long term care facilities across Ontario are penalized by the province by getting less funding when they start showing improvement.
Timmings says the provincial funding formula has to change to give patients the best care.
"We can't improve quality care if at the end of that long term care is going to be facing increased budget pressures and reduced budgets because that just flies in the face of quality care," says Timmings.
Timmings says more nurse practitioners are needed at long term care homes to avoid extra hospital visits.
"Elderly residents can actually be assessed and treated for conditions that take them otherwise to emergency when they could be diagnosed and treated right in the comfort of their long term care residence," Timmings says.
Timmings says the province needs to ensure all long term care homes have adequate funding and not just the under-performing ones.
"When you look at the demographic of our population, there's going to be a tsunami of people aging and we want people to age in the healthiest way possible and to receive quality care in our long term care home when that time comes," says Timmings.
Meantime,
Ontario is strengthening home and community care by increasing access to services by an estimated 2.6 million additional hours and developing new patient and family-friendly supports.