For Immediate Release – Friday October 27, 2006
NEW FUNDING FOR ONTARIO’S HIGH GROWTH HOSPITALS
Ontario Government Acknowledges Growth Pressures on GTA/905 Hospitals
Toronto: The Ontario Government today provided $30 million in additional base operating funding for high growth hospitals in Ontario with $22.9 million of the funding being allocated to hospitals in the GTA/905 regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York.
“This new operating funding for high growth GTA/905 hospitals will help to lessen some of the financial pressures faced by our hospitals and begins the process of bringing better care close to home for three million GTA/905 residents”, said Kirk Corkery, Chair of the GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance. “Growth funding is essential for our hospitals. We’re pleased to have the McGuinty Government acknowledge the issues being faced in high growth communities. We are encouraged to see that the hospital funding gap that exists between the GTA/905 regions and the rest of the province is starting to be addressed and look forward to the day when all Ontarians will have an equitable share of the province’s health care dollars”.
A recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers identifies an $899 million gap in annual funding for hospital care in the high growth regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York. The large gap in annual funding results from the GTA/905 receiving $215 less per resident for hospital care when compared to the average provincial per capita level of funding.
“This new operating funding provides some relief at a time when GTA/905 hospitals are straining to meet the needs of their rapidly growing communities”, said Tariq Asmi, Executive Director of the GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance. “There’s more work that needs to be done and we look forward to building on this initial investment and continuing to work with the province”.
The Alliance has offered to work with the Ministry to plan and implement a health care and human services strategy for Ontario’s high growth regions and implement population-based funding for local health integration networks as a means to further improve local and timely access to hospital care in the GTA/905.
The GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance is the collective voice of acute care and mental health hospitals across the GTA/905 region – from Oshawa to Burlington and north to Newmarket. Alliance hospitals provide care in communities representing more than 25 per cent of Ontario’s population. The GTA/905 area is the fastest growing region in Ontario, accounting for more than half of Ontario’s annual population growth. The GTA/905 Alliance represents the more than three million residents in the region to ensure that they get better care close to home.
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For information contact:
Tariq Asmi, Executive Director
GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance
Cell: (416) 948-2033
Office: (416) 205-1331
Email: tariq.asmi@gtahealthcare.com