LONDON — The Ontario government is expanding access to diagnostic services in long-term care homes in Middlesex County and London to help improve residents’ quality of life and reduce avoidable emergency department visits and hospital stays.
The new Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care Plus (CPLTC+) program will allow paramedics to begin delivering diagnostic services like bloodwork and ultrasounds to residents. The government is also providing funding to allow more long-term care homes to receive the equipment and training they need to provide diagnostic services to residents in the comfort of their home.
“We are fixing long-term care, so residents get the right care in the right place,” said Natalia Kusendova-Bashta, Minister of Long-Term Care. “Providing more diagnostic services to long-term care residents in their own homes will help reduce avoidable hospital visits and 911 calls.”
CPLTC+ builds off the existing Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care program and will be rolled out across six paramedic services, including the Middlesex-London Paramedic Services.
The government is also investing an additional $6 million provincewide to continue the Equipment and Training Fund in 2024-25. Launched last October as part of the Your Health Plan, the fund helps homes buy diagnostic equipment and train staff so they can better manage and treat residents’ conditions that most often lead to preventable hospital visits, such as urinary tract infections, falls, pneumonia and congestive heart failure.
The fund has supported more than 700 projects at close to 220 homes across Ontario. In Middlesex County and London, over $264,800 in investments include:
- Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care purchased a doppler device, IV equipment and associated training.
- Southbridge London purchased a doppler device, medication monitoring device, bladder scanner and associated training.
- Extendicare London purchased IV pumps.
In addition, Ontario is connecting more long-term care homes to diagnostic services by expanding nurse-led outreach teams (NLOTs) throughout the province through a $4.2 million investment in 2024-25. NLOTs are specialized teams of registered nurses and nurse practitioners that work in partnership with hospital emergency departments and long-term care homes. NLOTs in northern and western Ontario, including in London, will use this funding to expand and support diagnostic services, such as ultrasound and blood work services, for residents in long-term care, and reduce avoidable hospital admissions.
“As part of our government’s Your Health plan, we are taking bold and innovative action to connect Ontarians, at every stage of life, to faster, more convenient care,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “The investments our government is making to enhance diagnostic services for long-term care residents in Middlesex County and London is one of the many steps we are taking to close service gaps and increase timeliness of care, providing more people with the right care, in the right place.”
The government is fixing long-term care to ensure Ontario’s seniors get the quality of care and quality of life they need and deserve. The plan is built on four pillars: staffing and care; quality and enforcement; building modern, safe and comfortable homes; and connecting seniors with faster, more convenient access to the services they need.