The fastest way to get into a long-term care home in Ontario is by going to the hospital first, advocates say.
The situation is particularly acute in Toronto, where the combination of an increasing and aging population and the loss of nearly 700 beds due to nursing home closures has meant that many nursing homes are taking in new residents exclusively from hospitals.
That has led one of two major long-term care associations in Ontario to take the unusual step of calling out the province to boost funding to other sectors ahead of the spring budget.