Ontario Expanding and Investing in Palliative Care in Peterborough-Kawartha

As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario
government is expanding access to palliative care services in Peterborough-Kawartha. This is part of
Ontario’s $147.4 million investment over three years in communities across the province to connect
more Ontarians to comfortable and dignified palliative care close to home and loved ones.


“Families have expressed their gratitude regarding the service that their loved ones receive,” said
Dave Smith, Member of Provincial Parliament. “This funding will allow Hospice Peterborough
to continue the remarkable care for not only patients, but for family members as well. This is Part
of our government’s commitment to ensure everyone has access to care when and where they
need it most,” MPP Smith added.


A portion of this funding will be used to connect people to more palliative and end-of-life services
across Ontario including:

  • Grief and bereavement support that help families and caregivers who are grieving the loss of a
    loved one;
  • Advance care planning to help patients and families prepare for future health care decisions;
    and
  • Perinatal palliative care programs that provide specialized grief, bereavement, and peer support
    that help parents prepare for the loss of their infant.


“We are incredibly grateful for the government addressing the increased need for hospice palliative
care in the province, including our Peterborough community,” said Hajni Hos, Executive Director for
Hospice Peterborough. “These much-needed funds will cover approximately 80% of our expenses,
compared to the previous 60% coverage, for our 10-bed hospice residence which offers 24/7
professional, patient-centered palliative care to those in their last weeks of life. At a time when the
healthcare system is under unprecedented strain, both in terms of capacity and a challenging health
care labour market, these funds make it possible for us to continue to provide the high quality, patient centered care we have provided for over 30 years.” Hajni Hos added.


In addition to expanding palliative care services across the province, this investment will provide
existing residential hospice beds in Peterborough-Kawartha with over $470,000 in additional funding
over the next two years for nursing, personal support, and other services delivered to patients at
Hospice Peterborough. Ontario is investing over $53.8 million over the next two years to increase
funding by 45 per cent for all approved hospice beds in Ontario, plus an additional increase for hospice
beds in small facilities.


The provincial investment also includes $10.9 million in multiyear funding to continue operations of
23 additional residential hospice beds through the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 fiscal years.

“When people approach the end of their life, they deserve to know that they can remain in their
community, near loved ones,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Expanding
access to end-of-life care in Ontario communities will provide patients and their families with
additional choices, helping to ensure they stay close to home in a familiar setting, with the specialized
care they need.”


With Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the province is making it easier for
people and their families to connect to the care they need throughout their entire life, whether that’s
by expanding access to services in their home or community or giving them the choice to book or take
an appointment virtually, to ensure hospital and long-term beds are available when it is needed most.

Quick Facts

  • Expanding care options in the community is a key part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the plan to help Ontario families connect to the care they need, in ways that are more convenient for them.
  • Ontario is expanding end of life care services by adding 23 new hospice beds to the 509 beds already available across the province to connect Ontarians with end-of-life care.
  • Palliative care, which includes end-of-life care, can begin as early as the diagnosis of a serious illness and focuses on improving the quality of each individual’s life, provides integrated and holistic care for individuals, their families, and caregivers and ensures that they have access to the supports they need when facing illness, death, grief, and/or bereavement.