Reducing patient wait times; expanding mental health, addiction and home care services; and preparing for the next pandemic are among top priorities for a group representing Ontario doctors.
The Ontario Medical Association shared its recommendations for improving the province's health system in a new report published today.
It also highlights the need to strengthen public health units and assign a linked team of health-care providers to every patient.
The group is calling on political parties to include its recommendations in their platforms leading up to next June's provincial election.
It says tackling the pandemic backlog of services must be done along with reducing the long-standing problem of patient wait times.
The report calls for adequate funding to address the backlog, ensuring services are fully staffed, educating people about healthy lifestyles, offering more services outside hospitals and improving data collection.