THUNDER BAY -- The Ontario government has announced temporary funding for 12 additional hospital beds at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, as well as money for 16 short-term transitional care spaces in the community.
It has also approved interim funding for the North West Local Health Integration Network to open a further 19 beds/spaces to address additional capacity needs as required.
The funding will cover the period between November, 2017 and March, 2018 only.
Across the province, a total of over 2,000 additional beds and spaces have been approved.
Health Minister Eric Hoskins says the investment of $140 million will help reduce wait times and improve access to health care services.
Hoskins made the announcement Monday at a Toronto hospital as Ontario's hospitals are preparing for an annual increase in demand due to the approaching flu season.
A ministry news release provided a breakdown of the additional beds approved for hospitals and communities in northwestern Ontario:
- Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre beds - 12
- Additional beds/spaces (as needed) - 19
- Short-term transitional care spaces (partnership with St. Joseph's Care Group) - 6
- Short-term transitional care spaces (partnership with TBRHSC and SJCG) - 10
- Lake of the Woods District Hospital beds - 4
- Short-term transitional care spaces in Kenora - 10
Dr. Stewart Kennedy, vice-president at the TBR Health Sciences Centre, called it "good news" for the community but said the hospital has to meet with the North West LHIN to discuss details of implementation.
The Thunder Bay hospital is funded for 385 beds, but as of Monday there were 413 admitted patients.
"We need to sit down and apply this funding and increased capacity to the most appropriate place...Whether it's going to be applied just to the excess capacity or we're going to find some more beds within the systems," Kennedy said.
St. Joseph's Care Group issued a statement welcoming the plan but indicated it was waiting for more details.
SJCG noted that overcapacity issues in Thunder Bay hospitals are due largely to people waiting in hospital for transfer to a different level of care, including at home with appropriate support, inpatient rehabilitation, or supportive housing or placement in a long-term care home.
It said "this care level decision is unique and individualized to each client; "spaces" do not necessarily equate to "beds".
The Ontario Hospital Association welcomed what it described it as the province's "surge plan" to assist hospitals and community care sectors in addressing high patient volumes over the coming winter.
Wait times for patients admitted through Ontario hospital emergency departments this summer hit the highest monthly level recorded since the province started measuring wait times nine years ago.
