Province adding $44M to fund to help reduce wait times in emergency departments

The Ontario government is funding an additional $44 million this year in an effort to reduce wait times in hospitals across the province.

In an announcement made at the Ottawa Hospital’s General Campus on Thursday, July 20, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said the money is being invested in 165 high volume and smaller emergency departments to reduce wait times and provide people better access to care in their communities.

“When someone experiences a medical emergency, it is vital that they get the urgent attention they need quickly,” said Jones. “By offering more funding for hospitals who show the greatest success in reducing wait times in their emergency departments, we are providing more support for them to deliver faster emergency care to the communities they serve.”

The provincial government is investing an additional $29 million this year to 75 high volume emergency departments across the province to increase their capacity to help more patients and reduce the amount of time people have to wait to access care.

An additional $15 million will also be available a number of smaller hospitals, which are now eligible to receive this funding. This will help support up to 90 hospitals across the province that provide emergency care to fewer than 30,000 patients a year, so they can hire and retain the staff they need to keep their emergency departments open.