More than 1K additional hospital staff, 167 beds needed in WR in next four years: OCHU report

Waterloo Region hospitals will need 167 more beds and 1,030 additional staff in the next four years.

That’s the estimate from the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), based on a new report.

The report called ‘The Hospital Crisis: No Capacity, No Plan, No End’ cited data from Statistics Canada and estimated province-wide, staffing levels and bed capacity in hospitals will need to increase by 22 per cent in the next four years to meaningfully address the issues.

“We are very concerned about the growing crisis in our public hospitals, which is deeply harmful for both workers and patients. Unfortunately, the government’s plan is completely inadequate to meet the needs of a growing and aging population,” said OCHU president, Michael Hurley, in a release. “At this rate, we are heading towards a much deeper crisis.”

The union said without significant investments to improve hospital staffing levels and capacity, the situation in the province’s hospital sector will continue to worsen.

“Ontarians trying to access hospital care have suffered immensely in the past three years as evidenced by unprecedented ER closures, cancelled surgeries, and a peak in hallway healthcare,” said Hurley. “It’s clear that this government has no real plan to provide people the quality of care they need.”

Hurley and other union representatives staged a media conference in downtown Kitchener on Aug. 11, outside the KPL, to highlight the report’s findings. You can see the full report by clicking here.