Ontario's community care access centres are not working as well as they should, according to a report commissioned by the provincial government.

The report points to problems health-care workers blame on Queen's Park. The study suggests waiting lists at the centres are too long, especially for children, that skilled staff and money are in short supply, and that nurses are choosing to work for hospitals instead of the access centres because hospitals pay more.

The 43 centres, referred to as "no-access centres" by some community care workers, were set up by the province in 1995. The idea was to reduce hospital costs by releasing patients earlier and giving them long-term care at home.

The Ontario Health Coalition says the problem is that the private companies hired by the centres cut back on services in order to boost profits. Workers, including Natalie Mehra of the coalition, say this will only drive health-care costs higher because patients who can't get proper medical attention once out of the hospital could end up back in hospital again. This will cost the taxpayers money the province thought it would save by privatizing home care.