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Care administrators to sound alarm at Thursday noon, London media conference

LONDON, Ont. — The provincial government has made home and community care the cornerstone of health policy and reforms. But funding for home care is not keeping pace with the increasing demand for services and hundreds of area patients are being denied care under new qualifying rules, say concerned staff with the Southwest Community Care Access Centre (SW-CCAC).

They will hold a media conference Thursday, November 27, 2014 at 12 noon at the London Library – Central Branch – TD Program Room (main floor), 251 Dundas Street to provide details of the impact on patients and the home care reductions in London and other south west communities.

“From Windsor and London to eastern Ontario as CCACs grapple with insufficient funding to meet demand, patients deemed to be ‘less ill’ are not getting the home care they need. Even the sickest of patients are seeing their care hours reduced,” says Heather Duff with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and a CCAC worker. She will be speaking at tomorrow’s media conference along with local SW-CCAC front line staff.

With thousands of hospital beds being closed, not enough long-term care beds to meet the demand of a growing and ageing population and not enough provincial funding going to home care, scarce resources are increasingly going only to the sickest patients. These are the very patients, who just a few years ago would be receiving 24-7 care be in hospital or a nursing home. “This means that other patients who need home care don’t get it. They are suffering without services, while others have their hours reduced. The health minister must stop pretending that patients are not being affected by these cuts. Many are suffering,” says Duff.

For more information please contact:

Stella Yeadon  
CUPE Communications  
416 559-9300