New report suggests Ontario needs to improve hospital staffing levels and capacity
A new report is urging the province to increase hospital staffing levels across Ontario, including here in Niagara.
According to CUPE's report, "The Hospital Crisis: No Capacity, No Plan, No End", the province needs to improve staffing levels and bed capacity by 22 percent over the next four years.
In Niagara, this comes to 1,739 more staff and 223 more beds.
The report notes based on the Ford government's current plans, staffing and capacity across Ontario will grow by less than one percent a year during that time frame.
"We are very concerned about the growing crisis in our public hospitals, which is deeply harmful for both workers and patients. Unfortunately, the government’s plan is completely inadequate to meet the needs of a growing and aging population," says Michael Hurley, the president of OCHU/CUPE, which represents 40,000 hospital workers across the province. "At this rate, we are heading towards a much deeper crisis."
CUPE notes while the province plans to add 3,000 beds over the next ten years, that figure is much shorter than what is needed.
Hurley adds the aging population is also a concern.
"The population of people aged 65 and over is growing at twice the rate of the rest of Ontario’s population and they are the ones who tend to use hospitals the most."
While the province's last budget expanded funding for long-term care and home care, projections from the FAO suggest pressure won't be taken off of hospitals without a significant improvement in these areas.
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