Ontario’s Health Minister is reassuring residents of long term care facilities they will continue to receive physiotherapy when the system changes on August 1st.  Deb Matthews told the New AM 740’s Goldhawk Fights Back this morning, “funding will still be available to provide physio to long term care residents who need it.  It will be part of a plan of care, so people will be assessed and they will get the physiotherapy that they need.  It will be one on one physiotherapy if that’s what they need.  There’s also funding to actually expand access to those exercise and falls prevention programs that are currently in long term care homes.  So people in long term care homes will be accessing physiotherapy as part of their plan of care.”

Matthews also says the coming changes will bring more equity to a system that currently shortchanges much of Ontario.  She says most of the OHIP clinics are located around the GTA and Hamilton and there are only two in northern Ontario.

Meantime, a last ditch effort is being made to stop the provincial government from overhauling the way physiotherapy is provided to older Ontarians.  Owners of 43 Ontario private physiotherapy clinics are planning to go to an Ontario Divisional Court on Thursday to try and quash the new regulations that they say, will force them to stop billing OHIP for physiotherapy.

You can find out more about the new Ontario government physiotherapy regulations online by clicking here.  You can also call a seniors’ info line at 1-888-910-1999.