On July 20th, 2023, an announcement was released by the Government of Ontario stating they are investing $44 million this year to 165 small emergency departments to reduce the wait time in emergency rooms and provide citizens with care faster and closer to home. This funding, which was placed as a solution to reduce wait times in the emergency departments can be utilized to: hire more healthcare staff, add new beds, and access to more transportation for patients in the emergency department.
Hospitals will have the freedom to use the funding for any solutions to help speed up the process of care and reduce the time patients spend. Ontario also plans to further invests $29 million in 75 high volume small emergency departments to enhance their capacity to treat more patients. An additional $15 million will also be used for the expansion of smaller hospitals.
The Ontario Government had previously granted a one-time fund of $93.4 million to reduce patients wait times in hospitals during the 2022-2023 pandemic recovery and to help support struggling hospitals with any funds necessary to deliver faster emergency care to patients.
An approximate of 90 hospitals across Ontario will be able to receive funding to hire more staff necessary in order to make hospital wait times faster and care more accessible. Currently 75 large hospitals receive annual funding for their emergency departments. With increased funding provided to smaller hospitals, citizens may be able to find hospitals closer to home and get the help they need as quick as possible.
- Athisayaa Prabagar, Intern
