Five things experts say could ease pressures on Ontario's health-care system
Temporary emergency room closures and increased wait times have become increasingly common in Ontario as the province's health-care system grapples with staffing shortages.
Premier Doug Ford has acknowledged that more can be done to ease health-system pressures, but his throne speech this week fell short of offering solutions to the problem.
Experts and advocates are making suggestions as to what could help Ontario's overburdened health system.
They include scrapping the law known as Bill 124 -- which caps wage increases for public sector contracts at one per cent a year for three years as well as training and registering more health care workers.
They also call for the province to build publicly funded, stand-alone health centres that can perform less complex outpatient surgeries and procedures, improve work conditions for staff and implement a national system to track staffing levels at different health-care institutions to ensure that there is a balanced distribution of the workforce and prevent service disruptions.
The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario says mental health support, mentorship and good leadership in conjunction with adequate compensation will in aid retention, as nurses contend with nearly three years of pandemic exhaustion combined with the rising cost of living.
The Ontario Medical Association says 22 million patient services were delayed over the course of the pandemic, 10 million of which were surgeries and cancer screening procedures.
It says that backlog is contributing to the strain being felt in emergency departments, which could be eased by separate health centres performing the outpatient procedures.
(The Canadian Press)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.