“The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) welcomes the investment of an additional $827 million announced today to strengthen access to hospital services in 2022/23.
The Government of Ontario has been a strong funding partner throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The OHA greatly appreciates this continued support as it is essential to ensuring that the people of Ontario are able to access hospital-based care as our population grows and ages
The investments announced today will provide hospitals in communities across Ontario with additional financial resources that will be invested in maintaining access to vitally important services. The government has also previously announced that it is making funding for 3,100 temporary pandemic-related hospital beds permanent. These are important actions that will strengthen the underlying capabilities of Ontario’s hospitals.
Historically, on a per capita basis, Ontario hospitals have had very low numbers of beds compared to other provinces and countries. Ontario had the same number of hospital beds at the start of the pandemic as it did 20 years ago – with a population that has grown by 2.8 million people.
Hospitals also face significant capacity pressures due to challenges across the continuum of care. Recently, the number of patients waiting in Ontario hospitals for a more appropriate level of care (ALC), such as home and community care and long-term care, reached an all-time high of nearly 5,800.
In the time ahead, it is essential that the Province of Ontario implement long-term health services capacity planning and continue to work in partnership to address the significant health human resource challenges facing our province while ensuring that surge capacity in Ontario’s highly efficient hospital sector is built up for a population of 14.5 million people.” – Anthony Dale, President and CEO, Ontario Hospital Association
SOURCE Ontario Hospital Association