The MPP for Essex is calling the latest provincial emergency order "very unfortunate."
The new directive rolled out by the Ford government will allow hospitals to transfer patients waiting for a long-term care bed to any nursing home without their consent in an effort to free up space in hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.
Taras Natyshak says, with proper planning, we would have never got to this point, adding shifting the problem elsewhere isn't going to make it go away.
"They're shuffling the chairs on the deck. It's unfortunate that we are now in that situation," says Natyshak. "Our critical care capacity in our hospitals is quickly collapsing. So they're looking for any potential alternative."
Natyshak believes this could be devastating for some families, saying "That means that families could be separated potentially and not end up going to a place that they want to go. So it's really drastic measures and our perspective is that it didn't have to happen this way. This is a government that is always reactive, never proactive."
According to Natyshak, Premier Ford needs to step up his game.
"Despite the calls from scientists and public health experts, they act slowly and only wait until we are in the worst case scenario and use the limited options that are available at that time," he says. "So this is another decision that, I think, is going to cause some real hardship for families in our communities."
During Wednesday's announcement, Health Minister Christine Elliott said hundreds of patients in hospital are currently waiting to be discharged to a long-term care home adding transfers without consent will only be done in the most urgent situations.
— With files from AM800's Patty Handysides