Cuts to health care across the province are hitting the north hardest, according to a new study.
The report found the budget freeze on hospitals, doctors and other services for a fourth straight year is most devastating to our area’s aging population.
Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, says seniors are characterized as causing gridlock, and, as a result, they’re being pushed out of northern hospitals before fully recovering. Hurley adds, while the government is shifting health care out of hospitals and into homes, home-care is not making up for deep cuts in the hospital sector.
Among its recommendations, the group is calling on the Wynne government to increase the number of acute care beds in the north.
The research was done by chronicling the experiences of hundreds of patients in Ontario, through a 1-800 hotline. (Photo: Caryn Ceolin)
