By Monique Taylor, special to the News

The number of seniors in Ontario will increase by almost 50 per cent over the next decade. Since 2005, wait times for long-term care beds have tripled.
Ontario has 77,000 long-term care beds and 24,000 seniors are waiting to be admitted, while an additional 10,000 seniors are waiting for home care.
These are sobering statistics. Yet, the most shocking stories are the ones we hear every day from family members, friends and community groups in Hamilton who experience the difficulties of finding long-term care or other appropriate support for seniors.
Most of us know someone who is struggling to find a place in a long-term care home for themselves or for a parent or grandparent. Many of us have a relative who is finding it harder to cope with everyday tasks, but who’s quite understandably reluctant to give up their independence.
Our seniors have paid their fair share and we must ensure they receive the kind of support they deserve.
If we’re serious about improving the quality of life for our senior citizens we must firstly make life easier for those who want to stay in their homes.
Secondly we must make sure those who need the support of long-term care are not forced to stay in unsuitable hospital wards.
Too many of our hospital beds are being used by those who are on the waiting list to get into a nursing home.
A hospital is not the right place for them and it’s costing the taxpayer far more than a suitable residential care environment.
Providing care for these patients in a hospital costs $1,200 a day. Alternatively, nursing home care could be provided for $130 a day, or home care could be provided for as little as $50 a day.
The Liberal minority government has recently announced a series of health-care proposals, including promises to improve care for seniors.
Yet for the tens of thousands of seniors waiting for care, they have heard many of these promises before.
Meeting the needs of Ontario’s seniors is a huge challenge, but it’s one that I am dedicated to addressing on behalf of my constituents.
Along with my New Democrat colleagues at Queen’s Park, I will continue to advocate for a seamless system of care that places the needs of seniors and their families first, ahead of government bureaucracy and political promises.
Monique Taylor is MPP for Hamilton Mountain. Columns from the Mountain’s elected provincial and federal representatives appear monthly.