The region’s hospital could find itself with more than just constant gridlock problems if the province continues to slash hospital budgets, warn health-care advocates.
Four Thunder Bay Health Coalition members rallied outside the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences centre, joining a province-wide protest that took place in 40 communities across Ontario Wednesday. The protests intended to launch a volunteer-led referendum.
The Health Coalition accuses the province of making devastating cuts to hospital budgets for nine consecutive years -- the longest stretch in Ontario’s history.
As a result, public hospitals across the province have been experiencing overcrowding and understaffing problems.
Thunder Bay Health Coalition co-chair Jules Tupker said Thunder Bay hasn’t had any problems beyond constant gridlock, however, if cuts continue the hospital will be effected.
“There could be possibilities of at least some sort of department closures and delays in Thunder Bay,” Tupker said.
“They are closing whole hospitals in Southern Ontario, forcing people to drive over to another hospital.”
The regional hospital has been experiencing constant grid-lock. Patients are waiting for days on stretchers in hallways and common areas with continued budget cuts this problem will only get worse.
Ontario has the fewest hospital beds of any province in Canada and the highest overcrowded hospitals. Only Chile and Mexico have fewer beds per capita in the entire developed world than Ontario.
“We are hoping to get as many people in Thunder Bay as possible to sign a referendum,” Tupker said.
“We are hoping to get 1,000 signatures on the referendum to take to the provincial government and tell them that the funding to hospitals is absolutely inappropriate.”
The health coalition is encouraging residents to support the province by filling out a questionnaire regarding the government increasing the funding to Ontario hospitals Saturday at the Country Market from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
For more information about the referendum, visit the Thunder Bay Health Coalition online here.
