Hospital admission wait-times increase 52 per cent over 5 years as perpetual budget deficits become new normal for Ontario hospitals: CCPA report

CCPA research study on hospital deficits to be released on Monday morning at a Queen’s Park press conference

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The majority of Ontario’s 136 hospitals have carried operational deficits since 2022, and this puts an already precarious public system at risk, says new analysis from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

In Failure, By Design: Ontario’s deepening hospital funding crisis, CCPA’s senior researcher Andrew Longhurst finds that rising hospital costs of six percent annually and government underfunding are creating a toxic situation that undermines the goal of offering timely access to care for patients. For instance, 90 per cent of patients spent 44 hours in the emergency department awaiting hospital admission in 2024/25 – a 52 per cent increase over five years.

On Monday morning, Longhurst will reveal detailed findings from the report during a press conference at Queen’s Park. He will be joined by Michael Hurley, the president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE) to speak about the report’s recommendations to address the staffing and capacity shortfall in the sector.

When: 10 a.m. on Monday, May 11

Where: Queen’s Park media studio, 1 Wellesley St., Toronto

What: Media conference to release findings of new research report about hospital budget deficits

Who:
Andrew Longhurst, senior researcher, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Michael Hurley, president, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE)

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