Meet the so-called 'bed-blockers' in Ontario's hospitals

Some 'alternate-level-of-care' patients the government wants out of hospitals are bedbound with feeding tubes, gaping wounds and no family to lean on

Jack Hauen Apr 11, 2025 8:00 AM

Premier Doug Ford tours a Trillium Health Partners hospital on Dec. 1, 2021.Premier of Ontario

One 68-year-old man was in the hospital for four years, hooked up to a feeding tube, breathing tube and a ventilator.

An 82-year-old man required dialysis, a feeding tube and a mechanical lift to get out of bed.

Another patient had a bed sore down to the muscle and couldn't move his arms or legs.

All of them were "alternate level of care" (ALC) patients, meaning the hospital believes they should no longer be there — and if they or their loved ones disagree, they could be fined for refusing to move.

Internal hospital documents obtained by The Trillium illustrate the complex needs of these patients, who sometimes can't afford private care, have no family to look after them and medical issues advocates say are too severe for long-term care.

Hospitals give patients an ALC designation when they deem them to no longer require acute care. An ALC patient with intense needs will require complex care for the rest of their life. Someone with fewer needs may be a fit for a long-term care home or home care. Retirement homes, which don't require nurses on staff, are often good spots for seniors who are still somewhat independent.

The problem, seniors' advocates say, is that hospitals, facing funding pressures from the province, have too few complex-care beds, meaning high-needs patients linger indefinitely in acute care — while the hospitals employ intense pressure to get them to leave, often to an inappropriate care setting.

See more at The Trillium