Bill 188 2016

An Act to amend the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 to establish a minimum standard of daily care

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

   1.  Subsection 6 (2) of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 is repealed and the following substituted:

Based on assessment of resident

   (2)  The licensee shall ensure that the care set out in the plan of care is based on an assessment of the resident, the needs and preferences of that resident and takes into account the licensee's duty to comply with subsection 8 (5).

   2.  Section 8 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Minimum standard of daily care

   (5)  Every licensee of a long-term care home shall ensure that the average number of combined hours of nursing services and personal support services offered at the home each day is at least four hours per resident, or if a higher minimum average is prescribed, the prescribed amount.

Same, calculation

   (6)  For the purposes of this section, the average number of hours of nursing services and personal support services is calculated as prescribed by the regulations and does not include hours paid in respect to vacation, statutory holidays, leaves of absence, sick time or training time or for other purposes which do not involve direct patient care.

   3.  Subsection 38 (2) of the Act is amended by adding the following clause:

(g.1) prescribing a higher minimum average number of combined hours of nursing services and personal support services for the purposes of subsection 8 (5);

Commencement

   4.  This Act comes into force six months after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   5.  The short title of this Act is the Time to Care Act (Long-Term Care Homes Amendment, Minimum Standard of Daily Care), 2016.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 so that a long-term care home will have to provide its residents with at least four hours a day of nursing and personal support services, averaged across the residents. The minimum hours may be increased by regulation.