FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 30, 2024
“An appalling failure to plan:” new research report to reveal huge shortfall between the hospital capacity required by 2032 and the Ford government’s ten-year plan

TORONTO – For the past two years, health minister Sylvia Jones has repeatedly stated the government’s plan to add 3,000 staffed hospital beds by 2032. But a new report shows that this will be grossly insufficient and will exacerbate overcrowding in hospitals based on projected patient needs.

Citing latest information from CIHI, Statistics Canada, and other sources, the report also shows worrying trends in the sector including a 17 per cent increase in job vacancies over the past year and a decline in hospital bed capacity since 2019.

CUPE will release the full findings of the report on Wednesday, September 4 at Queen’s Park.

Who:    Michael Hurley, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE) and Doug Allan, senior researcher at CUPE National

What:   Media conference to release findings of research report on the hospital capacity and staffing crisis

Where: Queen’s Park media studio, Toronto

When:  10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 4

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For more information, contact:

Zaid Noorsumar
CUPE Communications
znoorsumar@cupe.ca
647-995-9859