Cuts to health care across the province are hitting the north the hardest, according to a new study.
The report found the budget freeze on hospitals, doctors and other services for a fourth straight year is most devastating to our area’s aging population.
Michael Hurley, President of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, says seniors are being blamed for misusing and hogging resources, and as a result, pushed out of hospitals too soon.
Hurley says while the government is shifting health care out of hospitals and into homes, home-care is not making up for deep cuts in the hospital sector.
Among its recommendations, the group is calling on the Wynne government to increase the number of acute care beds in the north.
The Council says it’s urging the province to increase funding to at least 5.6%.
The research was done by chronicling the experiences of hundreds of patients in Ontario, through a 1-800 hotline.
