Ontario Council of Hospital Unions president Michael Hurley is warning that the worst is yet to come with Ontario's hospital crisis.
A new research report that cites data on hospital funding, bed capacity, staffing levels, admission times, and other metrics, the report shows declining levels of service and paints a dire picture moving fowrward.
The report estimates that based on the government's own plans, Ontario will come up short by about 13,800 hospital beds and more than 80,000 staff required by 2032.
The report notes that these shortages are driven by underfunding.
“The data paints a dire picture. There is a massive gap between what Ontarians need and what this government plans to do,” said Michael Hurley, president of OCHU/CUPE. “People are already paying the consequences for the Ontario PC policy of scarcity and it’s only going to get worse: we’ll see longer wait-times, more patients on stretchers in hallways, and fewer staff to provide care.”
According to the union, just to maintain current levels of service, Ontario must increase annual hospital funding by $2 billion. For Niagara Health System, that would mean $48 million in additional funding.