Provincial flu funding falls short
Niagara hospitals are waiting to learn how much of $90 million in provincial funding they can expect to receive to help them cope with the upcoming flu season.
But local New Democratic Party MPPs said a Tory government funding announcement this week means a funding cut, when compared to the $100 million provided by the former Liberal government last fall.
And even that wasn’t enough to effectively deal with the influx of influenza patients overcrowding hospitals, said Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates.
The funding, announced Wednesday, will support more than 1,100 hospital beds across the province throughout the season, including 640 new hospital beds as part of the province’s commitment to ending “hallway health care.”
In addition, the government plans to build 6,000 new long-term care beds across the province — the first of more than 15,000 new long-term care beds the province is planning over the next five years.
“One patient treated in a hallway is one patient too many,” said Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, in a media release issued following the announcement.
“This move will reduce the strain on the health-care system in advance of the upcoming flu season and work with front-line health-care professionals and other experts to transform the province’s health-care system,” he said.
But, Gates said, said hospitals across Ontario last year struggled with overcrowded emergency departments due to the influx of patients with influenza symptoms, despite having $10 million more in funding and 1,200 temporary beds to help cope with the increased demands.
“We ended up with hallway medicine. We have hallway medicine every year, but in flu season it got progressively worse,” Gates said.
St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens said families in Niagara and throughout the area “should be concerned.”
“I think they’re concerned that the cuts of the Conservatives are going to do even more damage than what the Liberals have done in the past,” she said. “Across the province we’re going to be asked to handle this year’s flu surge with fewer resources than last year.”
The Ontario Health Coalition also weighed in on the issue, call-
ing it “a re-announcement of the budget money that was announced by the Wynne government before the election, but worse, it is also a major cut.”
Even with 1,100 additional temporary beds, coalition executive director Natalie Mehra said Ontario still ranks at the bottom of Canada for the number of hospital beds per person.
Oosterhoff did not respond to questions regarding the statements of the NDP representatives and OHC.
Despite the concerns, Niagara Health president Suzanne Johnston called the funding “encouraging,” adding she looks forward to hearing more details about “how this investment will benefit Niagara.”
“We appreciate the province’s recognition of the need to invest in additional hospital resources during the busy flu season,” she said. “Wednesday’s announcement is a welcome addition to the numerous other strategies we have in place to ensure patients receive timely and safe access to care.”