“An appalling failure to plan:” new research to reveal shortfall in hospital capacity in Ontario and the number of additional beds and staff required in Kingston

“An appalling failure to plan:” new research to reveal shortfall in hospital capacity in Ontario and the number of additional beds and staff required in Kingston

KINGSTON, ON – 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 woefully 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 at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, including the funding required, bed capacity and staff required for Kingston just to maintain current levels of inadequate service.

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: City Hall, Councillor’s Lounge, 216 Ontario St, Kingston

When: 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 11

For more information, contact:
Zaid Noorsumar
CUPE Communications
znoorsumar@cupe.ca
647-995-9859