Horwath’s NDP forces vote on $1.3B to tackle surgeries with a focus on rural, small town Ontarians

HAMILTON — Andrea Horwath’s Official Opposition NDP will force a vote in the legislature on Monday on funding and a strategy to tackle the overwhelming backlog of surgeries in rural and small town hospitals.

“No one should have to wait in pain for surgery. No one should have to live with the anxiety and frustration of an illness getting worse by the day while you wait. Almost a million Ontarians are waiting for a surgery right now, and for those living in rural and small-town Ontario, the waits can be the longest,” said Horwath. “People shouldn’t have to wait for the next election — we need to start to fix the surgical backlog now.”

Horwath invited Cathy Mott of Ingersoll to join her online Friday to share her story. Mott is living in pain, waiting for a hip replacement surgery and a hysterectomy. Because her hospital is rural, surgery and operating room hours are restricted.

Mott’s life has been upended by the wait. A former town councillor, Mott said she would consider running again if she had a new hip to hit the hustings. Her family has even considered selling their home because she has trouble with the stairs.

“Cathy deserves better. People in rural and small-town Ontario deserve better. We all deserve better,” said Horwath. “The last Liberal government froze hospital budgets and laid off 1,600 nurses. Between the pandemic and the Ford government’s cuts, hospitals have been brought to their knees.

“My motion offers hope to people waiting in pain for surgery. With investments, a blitz to recruit, retain and return health care workers, and a strategy tailored for rural and small town Ontario, we can help people get care sooner.”

The NDP’s motion, which will be debated and put to a vote at Queen’s Park on Monday, focuses on rural and small town hospitals and surgeries. It calls for a $1.3-billion investment — a number pegged by the independent Financial Accountability Office of Ontario — to clear the backlog of surgeries people are waiting for. It also includes a strategy and funding to meet broader health care needs in rural and small town Ontario, and support for local hospitals and community clinics with a health care hiring strategy that includes the repeal of Bill 124, Ford’s low-wage bill.

Quotes

Cathy Mott, Ingersoll

“After recovering from these eventual surgeries, I expect to be able to resume a full and active life. Ontario might be ‘open for business’, but the surgery backlogs created by the Conservative government have closed me down far longer than good business practices would have allowed.”

Background

Horwath will move the following motion on Monday, Feb. 28:

ADDRESSING SURGICAL BACKLOG IN RURAL ONTARIO

Whereas it has been estimated that up to a million Ontarians have been forced to postpone surgeries including cancer surgeries, heart bypass surgeries and knee and hip replacements, and people have been forced to delay cancer screenings, CT and MRI scans and other medically necessary procedures – and many will have to wait almost three years before receiving care; and

Whereas more than 80% of Ontarians have listed the backlog of services among their top healthcare concerns; and

Whereas Ontarians in rural areas are often forced to wait even longer than those in urban areas for treatment, and are regularly required to leave their communities for care; and

Whereas the former Liberal government froze hospital budgets and cut 1,600 nurses, and the Ford government’s failure to adequately fund hospitals and community clinics only worsened the impact of the pandemic; and

Whereas the Ford government’s 2021 budget promised less than half of the funding Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer and the Ontario Medical Association identified as necessary to clear the surgical backlog in 2021; and

Whereas the cost of the backlog has likely grown as a result of additional surgical delays brought about by the January 2022 directive to cancel 8,000-10,000 surgeries and procedures during the Omicron wave;

Therefore the Legislative Assembly calls on the Ford government to: follow the advice of Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer and immediately allocate a minimum of $1.3B in new funding to address the backlog; work in consultation with communities and locally-based service providers to develop and implement a strategy to provide additional funding and supports necessary to address health care needs in rural and small town Ontario; and extend support for local hospitals and community clinics via a healthcare hiring strategy that includes the repeal of Bill 124.