When they first saw that the Ontario government had allocated $518 million to hospital operating costs in the 2017 budget, Jamie-Lee Ball and her mother were ecstatic. Instead, the funding will do little more than cover inflation and will not be enough to even sustain the current system, according to the Ontario Health Coalition. Of all the provinces, Ontario has the fewest number of hospital beds per 1,000 people available at 2.3, while Newfoundland and Labrador tops the list with 4.6. Since 2016, they’ve been operating above 100 per cent capacity, reaching a peak of 110 per cent in February, CEO Rob MacIsaac said. However, freeing up these beds would still leave the hospitals above the ideal capacity of 85 per cent.

Source: National Post April 28, 2017 22:41 UTC