To get publicly funded home care in Ontario, call Ontario Health atHome at 1-833-515-1234. Anyone can make the referral with your consent — you, a family member, a friend, a neighbour or your doctor. A care coordinator then assesses your needs and, if you qualify, builds a care plan with you.
Below is what happens at each step, what to have ready, and your options if you are refused.
- The five steps
- Making the referral
- The assessment and how to prepare
- What Ontario funds
- If you are refused, or need more hours
- Where private care fits
How to get home care in Ontario: the five steps
- Someone makes a referral. A phone call is enough.
- An intake conversation. You are asked questions about the situation.
- An assessment with a care coordinator, often in your home.
- A care plan is built, if you are found eligible.
- The first visit, then adjustments as things change.
Ontario Health atHome sets out this same sequence on its Getting Started page.
Step 1: Make the referral to Ontario Health atHome
This is the step families most often get wrong, because they assume they need a doctor to start it. They do not. Ontario Health atHome states it plainly: “Anyone can make a referral to us on your behalf and with your consent – a family doctor, friend, family member, caregiver, neighbour and even you, yourself.”
Two things matter there. A phone call from a daughter in another city counts. And with your consent — the person receiving care has to agree. If your parent is not ready for that conversation, the referral is not the first hurdle; the conversation is.
If a hospital, family doctor or another health professional has already sent a referral, you do not need to send a second one. Ontario Health atHome says you can expect a phone call once the referral has been processed.
Step 2: The intake call, and what you will be asked
When you call, you will be asked questions to understand the situation. From there, one of two things happens: you are connected with a care coordinator, or you are referred to a community program or service that fits your needs better.
That second outcome surprises people. Not every need is a home care need — meal delivery, transportation and community support programs sit outside the home care allocation, and being pointed towards them is not a refusal.
To be assessed at all, you need to be an Ontario resident with a valid OHIP card. Have the health card in front of you when you call.
Step 3: The home care assessment
A care coordinator may visit your home to assess needs in person, working with you and anyone you designate to build a care plan. The most useful thing you can do is be accurate rather than brave: many older adults perform well for a visitor and struggle an hour after they leave.
We have set out the assessment in full separately — who does it, what it covers, what to have ready and what happens afterwards. See what happens during a home care assessment, and how to prepare.
Working out what the public plan will actually cover?
We can talk through what private hours would cover alongside it — including if the answer is that you do not need us yet.
Book a free consultation → · or call 1-888-507-6236
Step 4: Your care plan, and what Ontario funds
If you are found eligible, the government pays for the services in your plan. Ontario lists what that can include: nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, social work and nutrition support; personal support such as bathing, dressing and toileting; homemaking such as cleaning, laundry and meal preparation where you are also receiving personal support; and end-of-life care with nursing, supplies, equipment and hospice services.
Here is the part government pages state less directly. The amount of service in your plan is a decision, and it is a decision made against finite resources. Ontario Health atHome says so in its own waitlist notes: “A waitlist exists for a service usually when there are limited resources to provide the service. Patients with the most urgent and complex care needs are given priority.”
You can check the picture in your own region. Ontario Health atHome publishes wait time and waitlist information by area. In the Central area, for example, the published figures as of 30 June 2026 showed nursing provided within five days to 93.5 per cent of patients, and personal support for complex-needs patients within five days to 95.7 per cent. Those are the urgent end of the queue. Less urgent needs wait longer, and waits differ by service and by region, so look up yours rather than assuming.
Step 5: The first visit, then reassessment
After the plan is set you meet your care provider, and it is adjusted as circumstances change. Reassessment is normal, not a complaint — if a parent comes home from hospital weaker than before, or the spouse doing most of the caregiving can no longer manage, call back.
If you are refused, or the hours are not enough: complaints and HSARB appeals
You have a formal route, and most families never learn it exists.
Complaints go directly to Ontario Health atHome or the service provider first, and Ontario states they must respond within 60 days — or within 10 days where the complaint alleges abuse or neglect resulting in harm or risk of harm.
Beyond that, you can appeal to the Health Services Appeal and Review Board. Ontario lists four appealable decisions: that you are not eligible for a home care service; that a service is excluded from your care plan; the amount of a service in your plan; and the termination of a service. HSARB can be reached at 416-327-8512 or toll-free at 1-866-282-2179.
That list is quietly informative. The fact that “the amount of a home care service in your care plan” is something Ontario built an appeal route for tells you how often the allocation and the need do not match.
Where private home care fits alongside a public plan
Ontario’s guidance says it in one line: “You can also pay for your own care through private companies.” The two are not alternatives you must choose between — most families we speak to end up using both.
The gaps fall predictably. Overnights. Weekends. Visit lengths that are shorter than the task really takes. Companionship, which is rarely funded. Continuity, when a publicly funded roster sends a different person each week. Private hours are usually bought to fill a specific gap, not to replace the plan.
Two practical notes. Get assessed even if you expect to pay privately, because the plan may cover more than you assume. And if you are arranging private hours alongside a public plan, tell both sides what the other is doing, so nobody assumes a visit is covered when it is not.
Help Now Healthcare is a private provider, with a network of over 1,000 healthcare professionals across Ontario, including Toronto and North York. We are not part of Ontario Health atHome and cannot influence a public allocation or speed up a public waitlist. What we can do is cover the hours the plan does not.
Related reading
- What happens during a home care assessment, and how to prepare
- Understanding home and community care support services in Ontario — what the public system is, in plain terms
- How many hours of home care do you really need?
- Personal support — bathing, dressing, mobility and daily assistance
- Post-hospital and transitional care, if this started with a discharge
- Respite care, if the family caregiver is the one running out
- Dementia and Alzheimer’s care
- Palliative and end-of-life care at home
- Where we provide care across Ontario
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a doctor’s referral to get home care in Ontario?
No. Ontario Health atHome accepts referrals from anyone with your consent, including yourself, a family member, a friend, a neighbour or a caregiver. You can call 1-833-515-1234 directly.
Do I need an OHIP card?
Yes. Ontario Health atHome states that Ontario residents with a valid Ontario Health Insurance Plan card are eligible to receive an assessment. Additional requirements may apply to specific programs, and staff will discuss those with you.
How long will it take before care starts?
It depends on the service and your region. Ontario Health atHome publishes wait time and waitlist information by area and states that patients with the most urgent and complex care needs are given priority. Check the waitlist page for your own region rather than relying on a provincial average.
What can I do if I am told I do not qualify, or the hours are not enough?
Raise it first with Ontario Health atHome or the service provider organization directly; Ontario states they must respond within 60 days, or within 10 days where the complaint alleges abuse or neglect resulting in harm or risk of harm. You can also appeal to the Health Services Appeal and Review Board, which hears appeals about eligibility, a service excluded from your plan, the amount of a service, and the termination of a service. HSARB can be reached at 416-327-8512 or 1-866-282-2179.
Can I use publicly funded and privately paid home care at the same time?
Yes. Ontario’s guidance on home and community care states that you can also pay for your own care through private companies. Many families use a public allocation for some needs and buy private hours to cover overnights, weekends or longer visits.
A note on what this article is
This is general information about how Ontario’s home care process works. It is not clinical advice, and it does not replace guidance from your own doctor, nurse practitioner or care coordinator, who know the medical situation. Bring any health question to them.
Talk to someone about care at home
If you are working through the public process and want to understand what private hours could cover alongside it, we are happy to talk it through with you — including if the answer is that you do not need us yet.
Or call us at 1-888-507-6236.
Sources
- Ontario — Home and community care
- Ontario Health atHome — Making a referral
- Ontario Health atHome — Getting started
- Ontario Health atHome — Care coordination
- Ontario Health atHome — Home care
- Ontario Health atHome — Central area wait times and waitlist information
