QUEEN’S PARK—Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael Mantha pressed Ontario premier Doug Ford during Question Period in the legislature on February 22 on the financial pressures facing public hospitals in the North. Following a worrying report by Ontario’s auditor general in the fall and a letter sent by the chief executive officers (CEOs) of 25 Northern hospitals, MPP Mantha said it is beyond time for the government to act on hospital’s funding concerns.
“Last November, 25 hospital CEOs wrote a joint letter to your government about the precarious financial situation that they are in,” MPP Mantha said. “They outlined the fact that Northern hospitals have been directed by the ministry to avoid closures, support surgical recovery and avoid service reductions while at the same time they are coping with the financial pressures of private agency staffing, the impacts of Bill 124, infrastructure costs and inflation, as well as the pending discontinuation of the locum incentive program on March 31.”
Despite these pressures being communicated to the government months ago, there have been no funding increases to support Northern hospitals. “When this letter came to my attention, followed by the auditor general’s scathing report I went out to meet with the leadership teams at each hospital in Algoma-Manitoulin” said MPP Mantha. “Northern hospitals are approaching a crisis that will impact services and will mean emergency room closures, services suspended and potentially complete hospital closures.”
Paula Fields, president and CEO of the Manitoulin Health Centre (MHC) confirmed, “No, we haven’t received any information (from the province) on funding and the current fiscal year ends in five weeks’ time.”
“There are a lot of moving pieces and challenges and things ending, like the temporary locum incentive program that emergency rooms count on it. There has been no word if there is going to be an extension or a replacement program,” said Ms. Fields.
“We are still waiting for answers on all the challenges facing hospitals in the North,” said Ms. Fields.
MPP Mantha called on the government to meet the requests of Northern hospitals to stabilize their services and commit to annualized funding increases that match their needs.
