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Health group says it will reveal how underfunded our hospital is.

"Ontario’s Liberal government is underfunding the care of patients at North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) by millions of dollars each year."
2015 11 24 Hospital emergency entrance turl

The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) is holding a news conference tomorrow, pledging to reveal how much more provincial funding the local hospital would need in order to reach the average hospital funding level in the rest Canada.

A news release from the group called, "Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)" says that hospitals in the rest of Canada get 25.3 per cent more funding from provincial governments than hospitals in Ontario.

"Ontario’s Liberal government is under funding the care of patients at North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) by millions of dollars each year.

“The rain of cuts in North Bay in acute care, with the elimination of nursing and direct patient care and mental health beds and programs, can be traced to the decision to lag hospital expenditures by 25 per cent relative to the other provinces. Among provinces and territories, Ontario’s Liberal government is uniquely financing a huge cut in corporate taxes by slicing billions from direct hospital patient care. Patients in communities like North Bay are paying the price with less care,” says OCHU president Michael Hurley.

He says North Bay hospital’s provincial funding gap is also exacerbated by higher costs tied to its private construction. Originally designed to hold 284 beds at a cost of $95 million, NBRHC opened as a 188 bed hospital costing $146 million, $51 million over the original target budget and significantly smaller than originally planned. Since the new hospital opened, provincial funding has not kept pace with the actual costs to deliver patient care, says Hurley.

“This must change. The province has to increase base yearly funding for the hospital, so the cuts to services, beds and staff stop, or patients will continue to be adversely affected.”

As part of a community-wide campaign to secure adequate provincial funding for NBRHC, the Ontario Health Coalition has organized a “Take Back Our Hospital” demonstration on Monday November 30 at North Bay’s Lee Park. 


Jeff Turl

About the Author: Jeff Turl

Jeff is a veteran of the news biz. He's spent a lengthy career in TV, radio, print and online, covering both news and sports. He enjoys free time riding motorcycles and spoiling grandchildren.
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