Although Grey-Bruce Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker recently said that he will not be running in the upcoming Provincial election, he announced today (May 3rd) that the following hospitals in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound will receive additional operating funding this fiscal year:
- Grey Bruce Health Services will receive an additional $3.7 million starting in 2022/23, which represents an increase of 2.4 per cent to funding last fiscal
- Hanover & District Hospital will receive an additional $300,000 starting in 2022/23, which represents an increase of 2 per cent to funding last fiscal
- South Bruce Grey Health Centre will receive an additional $700,000 starting in 2022/23, which represents an increase of 2 per cent to funding last fiscal
The funding is part of the Ontario government’s $827 million additional investment to hospitals across the province, representing a four per cent increase from last year. This will ensure all publicly funded hospitals receive a minimum two per cent increase to their operating budgets to help them better meet patient needs, while building a stronger, more resilient health care system.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our local hospitals have gone above and beyond to provide exceptional care to patients and families in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound,” said Walker. “This new investment is just one way Ontario is supporting high-quality and timely access to health care to ensure we have the capacity to stay open.”
Over the last four years, the Ontario government has made significant investments in Ontario’s hospitals as part of its plan to build a stronger, more resilient health care system that is better able to respond to crisis. This includes overall sector increases four years in a row, representing a total provincial investment of $2.5 billion since 2019.
In addition, as part of its plan to stay open, the government is investing $10,220,000 to add 20 new patient beds to the Grey Bruce Health Services (GBHS). The new beds are part of a capital plan expansion with more than 50 major projects expected to add 3,000 new beds over 10 years and support the continuation of over 3,100 acute and post-acute beds in hospitals and alternate health care facilities in addition to hundreds of new adult, paediatric and neonatal critical care beds.
Since the outset of the pandemic, the government has added 777 more intensive-care unit hospital beds with the capacity to now handle 2,448 critical care patients.
To support growing demands on the health care system, Ontario’s investments over the next 10 years will lead to $40 billion in health infrastructure across the province. These investments will increase capacity in hospitals, build new health care facilities, and renew existing hospitals and community health centres.
