The province is taking action to ensure there are enough hospital beds for COVID-19 patients needing urgent care.
Health Minister Christine Elliott has announced the provincial government is amending the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to temporarily give hospitals the flexibility to transfer patients who no longer require hospital care to long term care or retirement homes without the patient's consent.
The order can only be used in situations where critical care threatens to overwhelm a hospital.
Elliott says this was a difficult but necessary choice.
"The spread of COVID-19 variants continues to pose a significant threat to our health system’s critical care capacity and the lives of Ontarians. While this is an extremely difficult decision to make, the consequences of not doing so could be devastating if we don’t have the hospital beds we urgently need to care for the growing number of COVID-19 patients."
Transfers will be made when doctors are confident the patient's condition won't deteriorate, and efforts will be made to vaccinate patients before moving.
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