HAMILTON -- Ontario plans to spend $155 million over the next three years on a seniors health care plan that will increase the number of long-term care beds in the province and hours of care provided by staff.
Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement today laying out the government's 20-point plan -- called Aging with Confidence -- to bolster services for the province's senior population.
The province will create 5,000 new long-term care beds over the next four years as part of the plan, and is pledging to create 30,000 more over the next decade.
The government will also provide additional staffing to increase the hours of direct care residents in long-term care homes get to four hours per resident.
The plan will also see the government spend $17 million a year to provide a new "high dose" flu vaccine, starting in 2018, with the goal of specifically protecting seniors from the illness.
Wynne says the government will also spend $15 million over the next two years to provide more recreational resources and health care support for buildings that already have clusters of seniors.
