It’s time for a change in the health system, Progressive Conservative health critic Christine Elliott told Scarborough residents — and they seemed to agree.
The MPP for Whitby-Oshawa was answering the public’s questions at the Chinese Canadian Service Centre on April 11.
The need for changes to healthcare was an issue that speaker after speaker returned to during the question and answer period.
Elliott focused on chronic disease management, a concern from many residents, particularly targeting the baby boom generation. She tackled many topics such as underfunding hospitals, a rapidly growing healthcare system and home care facilities.
The priority issue was not enough patients are receiving home care treatment because hospitals are becoming overcrowded, she said. According to Elliott, 25 per cent of senior patients are categorized as alternate level of care patients (ALC). They are wait-listed for long-term care facilities and remain in hospitals although rooms are limited.
“This is a problem because the ALC patients don’t want to be in hospital, their families don’t want them to be in hospital,” Elliott said. “The answer is to try to find solutions all the way through, so things can flow. We need to put our focus into finding a solution to long-term healthcare facilities.”
Liang Chen, Progressive Conservative candidate for Scarborough-Agincourt, said healthcare in Scarborough is a growing problem and needs to be put first.
“In Scarborough we haven’t had an MPP from the PC party tell you something is wrong because you don’t have a diverse view of the issue,” Chen said.