Home Care & Long-Term Care

OPA advocates for fair compensation for home care physiotherapists by confronting long-standing funding gaps and policy inequities in the home care and long-term care sector. We push for reforms that address wage disparities, outdated fee structures, and unequal treatment within the sector. Our goal is to ensure physiotherapists receive recognition and pay that reflects their essential role in home care.

OPA has been relentlessly pressuring the government to complete the implementation of scope of practice changes that passed through legislation more than 15 years ago, including enabling the authority for physiotherapists to order diagnostic imaging and laboratory tests. For those who are home-bound or in a long-term care facility, access to physicians and nurses in clinics and hospitals can be limited, and fulfilling scope of practice changes will improve care continuity and ensure that necessary care is accessible.

OPA is actively working to improve stakeholder understanding of the evolving role of physiotherapists in homecare as health needs become more complex. Increased clarity of physiotherapists’ roles and importance in this sector serves as a foundation for advocating for increased funding for physiotherapist positions with fair compensation, which will improve recruitment and retention.