Nearly 700 Ontario Patients Waiting in Hospital for Home Care and Community Supports, Says OCSA

Toronto, ON – June 30, 2026 – Nearly 700 Ontarians are currently waiting in hospital for home care or community support services to be arranged before they can safely return home, according to data available from Ontario Health. The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) says the figures demonstrate the growing urgency of investing in the services that make aging at home possible.

These findings come as new data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) highlight ongoing emergency department pressures across Canada and as more than 45,000 Ontarians remain on long-term care waitlists in the community.

Together, these numbers point to a fundamental shift occurring across Ontario's healthcare system: more people are living longer at home, often with increasingly complex needs, while demand for community-based care continues to outpace available capacity.

"Ontario has entered a new era of healthcare," said Lori Holloway, Chief Executive Officer of OCSA.

"For years we've talked about aging at home as a goal. Today, it is the reality. More than 45,000 people are waiting for long-term care in the community, and nearly 700 patients are waiting in hospital for the home care and community support services needed to return home safely. The question is no longer whether Ontario needs more community capacity. The question is how quickly we can build it."

Ontario's not-for-profit home care and community support organizations provide the services that make aging at home possible, including home care, transportation, Meals on Wheels, assisted living, caregiver supports, adult day programs, wellness services and hospital-to-home programs. Without these supports, seniors are more likely to remain in hospital longer, experience avoidable health crises, or require earlier admission to long-term care.

“Community care is increasingly becoming healthcare's pressure valve," said Holloway.

"Every hospital bed occupied by someone waiting for community services tells us the same thing: the demand for aging-at-home supports is growing faster than the system's ability to provide them. If we want to improve hospital flow, reduce pressure on emergency departments and help people remain independent longer, we need to accelerate investment in community capacity."

OCSA is calling for continued investments in home care, community support services, caregiver supports; not just service volume increases but the necessary infrastructure funding to ensure Ontario can meet the needs of a rapidly aging population.

"Ontario has made important investments across hospitals, long-term care and home care," Holloway added. "The next phase of healthcare transformation must focus on building the aging-at-home capacity that will determine whether our health system can meet future demand."

For more information:

Karla Sealy

Manager, Advocacy, Policy and Community Engagement

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext. 242

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