The C-E-O of Home Care Ontario says the recent increase in the price of gas created some serious problem for them.
Sue VanderBent says they have over a million people driving all over Ontario providing care to people in their homes. VanderBent says many members are travelling over 200 kilometres a week.
“We’re driving around in cars and many members of Home Care Ontario are travelling over 200 kilometres a week to get to their patients. It can be costing as much as a hundred dollars more a week when you’re travelling 260 kilometres or more.”
VanderBent says it’s great to see the price come back down this week, but they’re still concerned about how long it’s going to stay down and the instability in gas prices makes it very difficult for them to set budgets or recover that increase.
VanderBent says they look after a million Ontarians every year.
“We look after a million Ontarians every year, people who are waiting for us to come to see them at their home, young moms with sick babies, middle-aged people with chronic illness, elderly patients. It’s the full range of problems that people have and they can’t get to doctors. So they need home care providers to get to them.”
VanderBent says the government of New Brunswick has already provided additional funding to help their home care providers cope and she’d like to see the Ontario government do the same.
