/C O R R E C T I O N -- The Home First Alliance for Patients/

In the news release, Concerned Home Care Providers Launch Legal Action Against the Government of Ontario, issued at 6:00 am ET 27-Feb-2018 by The Home First Alliance for Patients over CNW, the source information found in the release should read "The Home First Alliance for Patients" rather than "The Home Source Alliance for Patients" as incorrectly transmitted by CNW. The complete, corrected release follows:

Concerned Home Care Providers Launch Legal Action Against the Government of Ontario

Creation of New Personal Support Worker (PSW) Agency Threatens Patient Care and
Workforce Stability

ONTARIO, Feb. 27, 2018 /CNW/ - A coalition of concerned home care organizations is asking the courts to review the recent decision by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to establish a new government-run agency for personal support services.

Coalition members fully support more flexibility and choice for patients, but Ontario doesn't need a new government agency to make that happen. Patients need more front-line care, not more administration. This new agency will not improve home care in Ontario, it will destabilize it.

Existing home care providers have a wealth of experience in caring for people at home. Some providers have been delivering care for well over 100 years and routinely support Ontario's most vulnerable patients. What is needed from government is an updated playbook and policies that enable providers to offer the flexibility and personal choice that patients and their families are asking for. Home care providers need government as a partner, not a competitor.

The proposed government agency initially referred to as Personal Support Services Ontario was first announced in a single bullet as part of a press release that was issued by the Ministry of Health on October 5th, 2017 and caught the entire home care sector by surprise. 

Coalition members deliver 95% of publicly-funded home care in Ontario, but were never consulted on the creation of this agency. The agency is an untested model that was set up hastily without input or consideration of the people on the front-lines of health care. It's another layer of administration that will divert badly-needed funds away from patient care and front-line supports.

A 2015 Auditor General report on home care confirmed that when government agencies (CCACs) delivered care, their administrative costs were significantly higher and they had less robust oversight measures than when these services were delivered by community home care providers. The Auditor also noted that there had been no cost/benefit analysis prior to launching government delivered programs. 

According to Minister Eric Hoskins, no new funding will be provided to create and operate the new government agency, which means dollars will be funneled away from direct home care visits. In addition, the Ontario-wide shortage of Personal Support Workers will result in the government poaching employees from existing home care service providers, undermining both workforce stability and continuity of care.

SOURCE The Home First Alliance for Patients

Media Contact: Anika Christie, 416-362-6141 x.223