Posted July 20, 2023 12:43 PM ET
Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones makes an announcement on the province’s healthcare system with Prime Minister Doug Ford on January 16, 2023 in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Ontario is adding $44 million to a fund for hospitals to reduce emergency department wait times and allow more hospitals to qualify.
The new funding comes on top of the $90 million a year provided by the province to reward emergency physicians who introduce what the government calls innovative solutions to reduce wait times.
Health Secretary Sylvia Jones made the announcement in Ottawa today, saying the additional funding will help hospitals provide faster emergency care to the communities they serve.
The fund will also be expanded to allow smaller hospitals to participate – those that have fewer than 30,000 emergency room visits a year.
Jones says this will support up to 90 other hospitals across Ontario “so they can better manage staffing issues and mitigate closures.”
Ontario has already experienced temporary emergency room closures at many hospitals across the province this year, particularly in smaller and rural communities, and often during night hours, due to staffing issues.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 20, 2023.
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