Northern MPP calls for boost in funding for hospices

Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas, who also serves as the NDP’s health critic, is calling on the province to increase funding for hospices and palliative care.

This week during question period at Queen’s Park, Gelinas asked the Ford government why hospices in Ontario only receive around 50 per cent of funding needed to operate.

“Since the pandemic, started all of them are having a tough time making up that 50 per cent,” she said.

“Some of them are looking at closing their beds because they’ve used all their reserves ... They just cannot pay their staff.”

Gelinas said hospice and palliative care is not only important for the patients, it also helps relieve an already overburdened hospital system.

“People would much rather be in a hospice, which cost about one-third of what it costs to provide the same services in the hospital,” she said.

Julie Aube, executive director of Maison McCulloch Sudbury Hospice, said they are dealing with the double whammy of rising costs and dropping donations. Aube said she fears what might happen if they don’t receive an increase in government funding.

“We have to raise $1.5 million a year just to keep these doors open and so it’s time we make some noise about that,” she said. “We create capacity for the local health system and we need to be funded and recognized as such.”

In response to an inquiry from CTV News, the Ontario Ministry of Health released this statement:

“Our government is investing $74.7 million a year to provide palliative and end-of-life care for Ontarians.

“On top of that, we know that investments in primary care and home and community care also support palliative and end-of-life services. That is why since 2018, we have invested over $41.6 million in capital funding to build more than 200 residential hospice beds across the province.

“Once open, we will provide these facilities with over $23 million each year in operational funding for nursing, personal support, and other services delivered to patients in these beds.

“To develop a provincial framework for palliative and end-of-life care, our government developed the Compassionate Care Act, 2020 2021.

“The framework, which was included in a broader report on the current state of palliative care in the province, will help us identify key priorities for strengthening palliative and end-of-life care, including how it will benefit from our Ontario Health Team model for better integrated care.

“The Ministry of Health continues to work with partners on the implementation of the Framework to ensure Ontarians across the province have access the care they need when they need it.”