Not one long-term care bed built in Peterborough since 2016

Since 2016, neither the Liberal government nor the Conservative government have built a single long-term care bed in Peterborough.

Making matters worse, the wait list for seniors in need of a care home in Peterborough has grown by a whopping 40 per cent during that time.

Those numbers, buried in the government’s own documents, were revealed Friday by Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Official Opposition New Democrats. They point to not only a huge problem in the senior’s care system, but also a root cause of hospital hallway medicine.

“Too often, seniors who need the care of a long-term care home are stuck languishing in a hospital bed, because seniors’ homes are full,” said Horwath. “Not only does that hurt those parents and grandparents forced to wait and wait, but it also results in hospital overcrowding. It means more patients waiting in pain on a gurney in the hallway, and more parents cradling their crying little one while they worry and wait. That’s hallway medicine, and it’s awful.”

According to the Central East LHIN’s report, in August 2016, Peterborough had 803 long-term care beds. In September 2019, there were still just 803 beds.

Meanwhile, the wait list has grown to 2,127 in 2019, up from 1,510 in 2016 — a 40 per cent jump.

“The Liberals abandoned Peterborough, and Doug Ford and the Conservatives are making things even worse, letting seniors care stagnate while the wait list balloons,” said Horwath. “Ontario’s seniors deserve so much better. After a lifetime of caring for us and building our province, when they’re ready for a care home, they deserve one that can meet their needs and maintain their quality of life.

“As soon as the time comes, they deserve a spot in a care home, not a spot on a wait list.”

According to the Financial Accountability Officer, just to maintain the current wait lists for long-term care, and the current disastrous level of hallway medicine, Ontario needs to build 55,000 new long-term care beds. So far, Doug Ford has built 21, none of them in Peterborough.

Horwath wants an investment in long-term care, a strategy to speed up long-term care bed construction, and for Doug Ford to scrap his planned $34-million cut to two long-term care funds, province-wide.