Local health officials are eagerly awaiting next week’s provincial budget.
The province has announced an extra $822-million for hospitals across Ontario, but Chatham-Kent Health Alliance CEO Lori Marshall says it all comes down to how that money is divvied up.
“We really need the details from the budget to understand, because usually, Ministry funding is tied to specific accountability, so the amount or percentage for each individual hospital will vary,” says Marshall.
She says she hopes the funding will help reduce wait times in certain areas of the Health Alliance.
“We do know that particularly in knee surgeries, our wait times are longer than the provincial average and so we would hope for some relief in that particular area. Some of our other diagnostic procedures, our wait times are longer than we would like as well, so we’re hopeful that there will be some targeted funding in those areas,” Marshall says.
The Liberals say the 4.6% funding increase will provide better access to care, reduce wait times, address capacity issues and better meet the needs of Ontario’s growing and aging population.
