Ontario hospitals can begin moving patients to nursing homes not of their choosing


Hospitals across Ontario can begin moving discharged patients awaiting long-term care into nursing homes not of their choosing today.

A new law allows hospitals to send those patients to homes up to 70 kilometers away in southern Ontario and up to 150 kilometers away in northern regions on a temporary basis.

Some hospital leaders have applauded the province’s move to try to ease pressures on hospitals.

Emergency departments across the province have closed for hours or days at a time over the past few months.

Scarborough Health Network CEO David Graham says the new law will open up beds, which will allow for more surgeries to take place.

Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO Andrew Williams says he applauds the government for the law, but says it won’t immediately help his facility because there are no empty long-term care beds in the region.

The province says the new rules will help free up at least 250 hospital beds in the first six months.

On Nov. 20, hospitals can begin charging patients $400 per day if they refuse to move.


This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2022.