The Somerset West Community Health Centre is helping residents through the upcoming medical review process which their newsletter describes as “daunting and frustrating.”
The medical reviews will determine whether or not applicants are still eligible to receive Ontario Disability Support Program assistance.
The Chinatown-based community health centre has partnered with Sandy Hill’s Centre 454 to assist residents with their medical review applications, in hopes of alleviating some of the stress.
Nancy Vander Plaats, community legal worker for the ODSP Action Coalition, says it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide application assistance, due to lack of government funding.
“The Ontario government provided more money in the last budget for ODSP staff to do these medical reviews, but there is not any money for the community agencies and legal clinics who help people. So many people being reviewed may have to go through this alone,” she says.
ODSP Action Coalition co-chair Kyle Vose also expressed concerns about the medical reviews.
“It can mean a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety and a lot of fear,” he said.
The Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services is taking action to catch up on the backlog of 60,000 medical reviews which have developed over several years. Typically, the first medical reviews take place between two and five years after recipients of payments first receive ODSP support.
Daniel Schultz, senior media and issues co-ordinator for the ministry, says the medical reviews are intended to target recipients whose conditions are likely to have improved over subsequent years, including back injuries, treatable forms of cancer or depression, to ensure “ODSP continues to work for the people it was designed to help.”
“Whatever the reason, this is obviously a stressful reality,” the community health centre newsletter states.
Schultz says the medical reviews were initiated by the ministry in May 2009 without the resources to fulfill these duties. This factor, as well as the increase in the number of ODSP applications led to the suspension of the follow-up reviews until July 2011.
At that time, the ministry decided that the initial applications were more important to address, to ensure applicants and their families received the support they needed.
Applicants have 90 days to submit the medical review information, but they are able to ask for more time if necessary.
The community health centre posted a reminder in its newsletter for ODSP recipients to check their mail to ensure they meet all deadlines set by the government.
“We want to support recipients through the process and treat people fairly,” Schultz says.
But Plaats says there are further complications for ODSP applicants.
“The increased medical reviews are a concern for many ODSP recipients, especially those who do not have family doctors or specialists who know them well and understand their situation,” she says.