{"id":3942,"date":"2016-02-25T09:50:13","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T14:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/?p=3942"},"modified":"2021-07-21T15:00:56","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T19:00:56","slug":"ohc-2016-pre-budget-briefing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca\/index.php\/ohc-2016-pre-budget-briefing\/","title":{"rendered":"ADVISORY:<\/FONT> OHC 2016 Pre-Budget Briefing"},"content":{"rendered":"

(February 25, 2016)<\/p>\n

2016 Pre-Budget Briefing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where We Stand: Ontario\u2019s Ranking in Public Service and Health Care Expenditures & Cuts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ontario\u2019s government is making budget choices that cut and privatize public services and health care. These are choices, not necessities. Here\u2019s how we compare relative to other provinces and jurisdictions on some key measures.<\/p>\n

The Notable Trends Are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ontario ranks at the bottom of the country for hospital beds per 1000 population (Chart 1).<\/li>\n
  2. Ontario ranks near the bottom of the entire OECD for hospital beds per 1000 population (Chart 2).<\/li>\n
  3. Ontario is at the bottom of the country for nurse to patient ratios (Chart 3).<\/li>\n
  4. Ontario and Quebec continue to compete for last place in hospital funding per person (Chart 4).<\/li>\n
  5. Ontario is second last in the country for public hospital funding as a percentage of provincial GDP (Chart 5).<\/li>\n
  6. Ontario is near the bottom of the country for public hospital funding as a percentage of all provincial program funding (Chart 6).<\/li>\n
  7. Ontario\u2019s hospitals are running over capacity. In many instances bed occupancy rates exceed 100% (Chart 7).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Priority Recommendation: Stop Devastating Hospital Cuts & Restore Funding to Average of Other Provinces<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Hospital global funding increases have been set below the rate of inflation since at least 2008. Since 2012\/13 global hospital budget funding levels have been frozen. In sum, this means that global hospital budgets have been cut in real dollar terms (inflation-adjusted dollars) for 9 years in a row. This is the longest period of hospital cuts in Ontario\u2019s history and there is no end in sight. The evidence shows that the hospital funding formula and austerity measures that have cut global hospital budgets in real dollar terms for almost a decade, have resulted in a dramatic reduction in needed services. By key measures, Ontario now ranks at the bottom of comparable jurisdictions in key measures of hospital care levels.<\/p>\n

    As a result, hospitals large and small in every geographic region of Ontario are cutting needed services. Hospitals are now at dangerous levels of overcrowding; staffing levels have dropped precipitously; and patients are suffering as they are forced to wait longer and drive further to access care and are discharged before they are stable.<\/p>\n

    A sampling of recent cuts:<\/p>\n