How fast can someone get into long-term care on an urgent basis?

It depends on bed availability at homes the family has chosen and how quickly the crisis designation paperwork clears. Some placements happen within weeks; others still take months even with urgent status, because it depends on which specific homes have an opening.

Who decides if a situation qualifies as a crisis placement?

A Home and Community Care Support Services care coordinator makes the designation, usually based on input from hospital staff, the family physician, and documented safety risks at home.

Can we choose which home we go into on an urgent basis?

Yes, families still rank preferred homes, but accepting the first available bed at any selected home is often required to keep the crisis designation active.

Urgent long-term care placement after a hospital discharge

Families often end up looking for a long-term care home not on a calendar but on a deadline, usually because a hospital is discharging a parent and a home can no longer manage safely on their own. London hospitals and the local Home and Community Care Support Services office coordinate a crisis or urgent designation on the long-term care wait list, which moves an applicant ahead of the standard queue when there is documented risk to health or safety.

This page is for families who need to move quickly: understanding the crisis designation, what paperwork a hospital discharge planner or care coordinator needs, and which homes in London currently have capacity to accept an urgent placement. It is not the same search as browsing every long-term care home in the city at leisure.

What counts as a 'crisis' designation on the Ontario long-term care wait list
Who signs off: hospital discharge planners, care coordinators, and physicians
Interim options (respite, retirement home, home care) while waiting for a bed
How to ask a specific home about current openings for urgent cases

What it costs

Long-term care in Ontario is funded through a co-payment set by the province rather than an open market price, so cost is largely standardized across homes regardless of how urgently a bed is needed. The main financial variable for families is room type (basic, semi-private, private), not urgency. Any private interim care used while waiting, such as a retirement home stay or hired home care, is billed separately at that provider's own rates.

Top 3 by our score

Ranked from our published scoring of public Google reviews for long-term care homes.

1. The Village of Glendale Crossing
4.5★ · 72 reviews

80
2. Home Instead
4.9★ · 104 reviews

88
3. Senior Home Care by Angels London
4.9★ · 101 reviews

88

See the full ranking → · Browse all providers

FAQ

How fast can someone get into long-term care on an urgent basis?: It depends on bed availability at homes the family has chosen and how quickly the crisis designation paperwork clears. Some placements happen within weeks; others still take months even with urgent status, because it depends on which specific homes have an opening.
Who decides if a situation qualifies as a crisis placement?: A Home and Community Care Support Services care coordinator makes the designation, usually based on input from hospital staff, the family physician, and documented safety risks at home.
Can we choose which home we go into on an urgent basis?: Yes, families still rank preferred homes, but accepting the first available bed at any selected home is often required to keep the crisis designation active.

When you submit an enquiry through this site's forms, it may be shared with partner providers who can complete the work, and we may receive a referral fee. Our rankings and scores follow our published methodology only and are never influenced by referral fees.