Ontario Expanding and Investing in Palliative Care in Owen Sound

June 20, 2023

OWEN SOUND — As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding access to palliative care services in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound. This is part of Ontario’s $147.4 million investment over three years in communities across the province to connect more Ontarians to comfortable and dignified palliative care close to home and loved ones.

“I’m pleased that Grey Bruce Hospice Inc. will be receiving an additional $378,400 for 2023-24,” said Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Rick Byers. “This additional investment towards palliative care services will greatly help patients and their families in our community.”

A portion of this funding will be used to connect people to more palliative and end-of-life services across Ontario including:

  • Grief and bereavement supports that help families and caregivers who are grieving the loss of a loved one;
  • Advance care planning to help patients and families prepare for future health care decisions; and
  • Perinatal palliative care programs that provide specialized grief, bereavement, and peer support that help parents prepare for the loss of their infant.

In addition to expanding palliative care services across the province, this investment will provide existing residential hospice beds in Owen Sound with over $378,400.00 in additional funding over the next two years for nursing, personal support, and other services delivered to patients at Grey Bruce Hospice Inc. Ontario is investing over $53.8 million over the next two years to increase funding by 45 per cent for all approved hospice beds in Ontario, plus an additional increase for hospice beds in small facilities.

“On behalf of the Board, staff, and volunteers at Grey Bruce Hospice Inc. and Chapman House, thank you to the Ford government and our MPP Rick Byers for this increased investment in hospice care over the next two years,” said Executive Director Janet Fairbridge. “This recognition of the need for Grief and Bereavement Services and Advance Care Planning, along with access to Palliative Care for all, is good news for everyone in Grey and Bruce Counties, for whom we provide this care.”

“When people approach the end of their life, they deserve to know that they can remain in their community, near loved ones,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Expanding access to end-of-life care in Ontario communities will provide patients and their families with additional choices, helping to ensure they stay close to home in a familiar setting, with the specialized care they need.”

The provincial investment also includes $10.9 million in multiyear funding to continue operations of 23 additional residential hospice beds through the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 fiscal years.

With Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the province is making it easier for people and their families to connect to the care they need throughout their entire life, whether that’s by expanding access to services in their home or community or giving them the choice to book or take an appointment virtually, to ensure hospital and long-term beds are available when it is needed most.

QUICK FACTS

  • Expanding care options in the community is a key part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the plan to help Ontario families connect to the care they need, in ways that are more convenient for them.
  • Ontario is expanding end of life care services by adding 23 new hospice beds to the 509 beds already available across the province to connect Ontarians with end-of-life care.
  • Palliative care, which includes end-of-life care, can begin as early as the diagnosis of a serious illness and focuses on improving the quality of each individual’s life, provides integrated and holistic care for individuals, their families, and caregivers and ensures that they have access to the supports they need when facing illness, death, grief, and/or bereavement.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES