Message from the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
As our population ages, home and community care is becoming especially important. Ontarians want
and deserve a health care system that helps them live independently at home – where we know they
want to be.
Strengthening home and community care is a hallmark of our government’s efforts to transform health
care. It is a fundamental part of our Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care. Our 2015 Budget proposed
continued funding increases for the sector over the next three years.
Our plan to transform home and community care in Ontario is bold. Our timelines are clear. We will
introduce greater consistency in care, a better understanding of the services available, more support for
caregivers and, ultimately, better access to the right care for those who need it most.
Patients First: A Roadmap to Strengthen Home and Community Care is the first phase of our plan to
remake the home and community care sector. It outlines the steps we are taking to improve the care our
loved ones receive. It is informed by the work of the ministry’s expert group on home and community care,
led by Gail Donner, and its report, Bringing Care Home.
Like the expert group’s report, the first phase of our plan is focused on the experience of those receiving
care at home or in the community. This phase is not about changes to the foundation of the system. This is
intentional; we believe that clients and caregivers are our first priority. Changes to the system’s structure
and governance will follow in a natural progression, as necessary.
This roadmap outlines the path we will follow for each of the next three years as we transform the home
and community care sector. It includes new programs we intend to create and the results we will achieve
on behalf of Ontarians.
This is a journey we cannot take alone. We look forward to continuing to consult widely with our
partners in the home and community care sector as well as with those receiving care, their caregivers and
advocates. Together, we will improve the care we provide to our loved ones at home and in the community
because that’s what it means to put Patients First.
Dr. Eric Hoskins
Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
