NEWS:

OTTAWA — Today, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak was joined by Ontario PC candidates Rob Dekker for Ottawa Centre, Randall Denley for Ottawa West-Nepean, Andrew Lister for Ottawa – Orleans, Jason MacDonald for Ottawa – South, Fred Sherman for Ottawa – Vanier and Ontario PC MPP for Nepean – Carleton Lisa MacLeod to announce his commitment to put patients at the centre of our healthcare system by investing in long-term care and improving health care for seniors who have been neglected by Dalton McGuinty.

As Dalton McGuinty wasted health care dollars on scandals like the $1 billion eHealth boondoggle and his massive new LHIN bureaucracies, the number of seniors on Ontario’s long-term care wait list has doubled and wait times have tripled. A Tim Hudak government will support our seniors and free up hospital beds by:

• Expanding long-term care with 5,000 new long-term care beds, targeted in communities where they will do the most good relieving pressure in the system.
• Renovating 35,000 beds over the next 10 years to give more seniors additional privacy and dignity.
• Doubling the Caregiver Tax Credit for those who care for an elderly family member.
• Increasing investments in home care and giving seniors more control over their services. Seniors can choose to stay with their current provider, or pick a government-funded home care provider that might better meet their needs.

On October 6th, Ontario families and seniors face a clear choice. They will choose between a Dalton McGuinty government that will continue to raise taxes and spend it on waste and bureaucracy, or a Tim Hudak government that will invest in frontline health care and put patients at the centre of our public health care system.

QUOTES:

“Long-term care wait lists have doubled and wait times have tripled under Dalton McGuinty, adding to a long and confusing process that is not just a tremendous stress on seniors – but also on their grown up children, who worry about their parents’ well being and access to the care they need.”
-Tim Hudak, Ontario PC Leader

“Seniors belong to a generation that fought wars that defined our country and made every sacrifice needed to make Ontario a powerhouse of Confederation. We owe them the right to live their retirement years in dignity, peace and security knowing the care they need will be there when they need it.”
-Tim Hudak, Ontario PC Leader

QUICK FACTS:

• According to Health Quality Ontario, wait times for long-term care have tripled under Dalton McGuinty. Seniors are now waiting an average of 173 days for a long-term care bed.
• (Health Quality Ontario, 2010 Report, Pg. 9)
• Ontario’s senior population (65 years and older) will more than double to 22 percent of Ontario’s total population within 20 years.
• Presently, there are 24,000 seniors waiting for a long-term care bed to become available.