Ontario Needs to Invest in Health CARE as Much as in Buildings. By Jamie Gilcig JULY 14, 2017

Cornwall Ontario – It has been published that the Cornwall Community Hospital is rationed 60 hours per day for doctors.  That includes emergency where tragically so many end up because they simply don’t have a GP.  Clinics are so brutal that the wait times are near what they would be in emergency which compounds the problems many times.

That has led to having only a single doctor on duty at times.   While statistics help guide Hospitals on when to ration out and have their doctors available there are many times when they simply can’t handle the load.

Today the province issued a release about the millions they are spending to upgrade hospitals in Eastern Ontario.

Cornwall recently saw CCH get a new face lift after closing the Cornwall General a few years ago.  The net loss in doctor hours has been felt.

60 hours per day is less than an average of 3 doctors on duty.  24×3 would equal 72.

The bigger question is as nice as the investment in the facility would be there are far too many people in Cornwall and other communities having to travel for care; especially for cancer of which Cornwall has sky high numbers of cases.

With a near useless MPP in a party that isn’t in power it makes it harder to get some extra love from Minister Hoskins and that sadly is leading to lost lives such as a local woman that lost her mother to C Diff on Mother’s Day at CCH.

You can have the best nurses on staff, but without doctors to guide them issues could happen.  Errors, neglect, and of course overworking your doctors due to shorter hours can also impact patient care.

What do you think dear CFN viewers?  Does CCH need more doctor hours rationed from the Province?  You can post your comment below.

And here’s the release from the province:

Ontario is continuing to strengthen and support rural health care in Eastern Ontario with repairs and upgrades to 15 hospitals, to provide patients with high-quality care in a safe and healthy environment.

 

The province is investing more than $11 million to help hospitals in the region make critical improvements to their facilities, including upgrades or replacements to roofs, windows, heating and air conditioning systems, fire alarms and back-up generators.

 

The 2017 balanced Budget includes a new $7-billion booster shot to health care, building on the commitment made in the 2016 Budget. This investment will improve access to care, expand mental health and addiction services, and enhance the experience and recovery of patients.

 

Ontario is increasing access to care, reducing wait times and improving the patient experience through its Patients First Action Plan for Health Care and OHIP+: Children and Youth Pharmacare – protecting health care today and into the future.

 

QUOTES

 

“These repairs and upgrades are crucial to ensuring all patients get the help they need now and in the future. By upgrading our hospitals’ infrastructure, we are helping Ontarians get the best health care close to home.”

— Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

 

“Our government believes in making investments that will lead to better health care for Ontarians and build a stronger rural Ontario. Thanks to this $7-billion investment, thousands of patients in Eastern Ontario will benefit from upgraded hospital infrastructure across the region.”

— Jeff Leal, MPP for Peterborough

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

  • The province is investing $175 million in repairs and upgrades to hospitals this year through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund (HIRF).
  • HIRF investments in Eastern Ontario hospitals include:

 

  • $297,970 for Cornwall Community Hospital
  • $96,027 for Glengarry Memorial Hospital
  • $94,898 for Hôpital Général de Hawkesbury & District General
  • $57,217 for Winchester District Memorial Hospital
  • $2,337,039 for Arnprior Regional Health
  • $452,950 for Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital
  • $1,015,626 for Deep River and District Hospital Corporation
  • $865,614 for Pembroke Regional Hospital
  • $2,723,946 for Renfrew Victoria Hospital
  • $1,970,308 for St. Francis Memorial Hospital
  • $423,807 for Brockville General Hospital
  • $176,216 for Lennox and Addington County General Hospital
  • $489,432 for Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital
  • $293,500 for Haliburton Highlands Health Services Corporation
  • $40,000 for Ross Memorial Hospital

 

  • HIRF was established in 1999 to assist hospitals in renewing their facilities.
  • As part of the 2017 Budget, Ontario is also spending an additional $9 billion to support the construction of new hospital projects across the province. This brings Ontario’s total planned investment in hospital infrastructure to more than $20 billion over the next 10 years.
  • The government’s investment of more than $190 billion over the 13-year period starting in 2014–15 is the largest infrastructure investment in the province’s history. It is helping to build new child care spaces, schools, hospitals, public transit, highways and roads.

7 Comments

  1. Ontario is near bankruptcy and I myself do not have a medical doctor. Our medical doctor was A+++++ and you don’t find doctors like that anymore. My daughter has a young Greek Canadian (a woman) doctor younger than herself and who is not really educated enough to do a proper diagnosis. My daughter uses her for her prescriptions for thyroid.

  2. That 60 hrs/day is for the ER only, a tad short IMHO. As for clinics they are another matter, but much shorter wait times. The problem is if a patient has a GP and uses a clinic their doctor is penalized. If tests are needed where would you rather be? I’d rather be in the ER. The problem is not just Cornwall, or the province. This is a national problem, cutbacks to healthcare everywhere.

  3. There is a huge shortage of doctors all over Canada both big and small towns as well as in the US. I was surprised lately to read that the US is inflicted with this problem as well. One lady in Baltimore Maryland told me years ago that the health care in the US is a big problem and not much better than that of Canada. There are walk in clinics down there and they are not good either.

  4. Hi my name legally is Claudette Maheau right now I’m in the hospital it’s going on for 2 weeks, with chronic diarrhoea. They don’t know why. They first put me in a room with no windows. Yesterday they came and ask if I mind to be moved out to the hall. What do you say when the nurses ask you such a question. The room I was in had no windows and no bathroom, I was embrassed. They say don’t have roo

  5. Claudette Maheau that is really bad and here in Ottawa there are many patients in hallways because of the shortage of beds. This is really disgusting and a person going through constant diahrea and no washrooms. This is unacceptable and you have the general public going through the hallways to rooms to visit patients and you are in that kind of situation. Jamie this is something to look into.

  6. Only so many beds per hospital are funded. After that the hospitals have to get creative. It would help if the provincial government would get off their collective keisters and find a funding formula that would solve the issue province wide. An increase to the Canada Health Act from the feds would go a long way in helping solve this issue.

  7. Ontario is deep in debt and the head of the PM of the province of Ontario will not reveal the truth to the people. Ontario is now a have not province and is broke like the east coast. Health care is taking a beating along with everything else. There are no jobs and students come out with huge debts. I spoke about that today with a girl who is connected to a very well known family in Cornwall.

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