A warning from the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions about shrinking hospital capacity in North Bay over the next five years.

A new report looks at health ministry spending restraint outlined in the budget and factors in inflation, population and aging growth cost pressures.

The projection is that North Bay would be shorted 50 beds and 268 hospital staff.

Union President Michael Hurley tells BayToday there’s no guarantee it’ll get better after five years.

“The government is vague about what it’s plans are post 2023/24 so I’m not confident things will get better,” he says.

The union says while funding is up one percent, it’s not meeting the need with operational costs being up four percent.

Hurley also says in northeastern Ontario, communities like North Bay, dealing with higher rates of disease, cuts at this level will hurt patients greatly and diminish already challenged hospital capacity.

As for long-term care homes, he says the government has announced 30,000 new beds, but there are 34,000 currently on a wait list.

Another issue is people with complex medical conditions being moved from hospitals to long-term care homes and the community.

“There’s going to be more pressure on long-term care and retirement homes and we won’t have enough capacity there either,” Hurley tells BayToday.

 

(Photo by Linda Holmes/BayToday.ca)