Ontario to Allow Transfer of Hospital Patients to LTCs Without Consent

Ontario to Allow Transfer of Hospital Patients to LTCs Without Consent
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott listens as Ontario Premier Doug Ford gives an update regarding the Ontario COVID-19 vaccine in Toronto on January 5, 2021. Ontario says hospitals will be able to transfer patients waiting for a long-term care bed to any nursing home without their consent. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
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TORONTO—Hospitals in Ontario will be able to transfer patients waiting for a long-term care space to any nursing home without their consent, the government announced Wednesday as it scrambled to free up beds for residents with COVID-19.

Health Minister Christine Elliott said a new emergency order allowing for the transfers was being brought in to help ease the immense pressure some hospitals were under amid an onslaught of the virus.