Latest news with #SylviaJones
CTV News
7 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Provincial government helps fund long-awaited new hospital in Brantford-Brant
The Ontario government pledges to invest an additional $12.5 million for the construction of a long-awaited hospital in Brantford-Brant. Brant Community Healthcare System has planned for a new hospital for more than ten years. It's expected to connect more patients and families in Brant County, Six Nations of the Grand River and surrounding communities to more convenient, high-quality care. 'By investing to build a brand-new Brant Community Healthcare System hospital, we are making it faster and easier for more people and their families to access world-class care in their community, for generations to come,' said Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health, in a media release. The latest investment is on top of Ontario's previous investment of $2.5 million. In November 2024, the City of Brantford launched a new campaign, asking the provincial government and Ministry of Health to prioritize funding for a new hospital. 'This new state-of-the-art facility will expand capacity, improve services and reduce wait times, ensuring the hospital can continue to meet the needs of the rapidly growing region for years to come,' said the media release. Once opened, the new hospital is expected to include: Increased patient capacity to meet the community's future needs and allow more people to connect to care sooner More access to core programs, emergency services and intensive care Medical imaging and other diagnostic services Maternal, newborn and pediatric care programs Mental health and addictions programs, including a Mental Health Emergency Medicine Unit and Specialized Mental Health Outpatient Clinic Modernized medical and surgical inpatient units to allow people to receive vital surgeries and procedures sooner, including for stroke and rehabilitation care New ambulatory care programs and clinics to increase access to life-saving dialysis and cancer care The Ministry of Health will be working with Brant Community Healthcare System to complete early planning for this project, including determining bed numbers and square footage. The province said once planning is complete and the project has found a bidder, a construction schedule will be confirmed. Brant Community Healthcare System's website said the BCHS Foundation continues to raise funds for the Hospital Redevelopment. Donations can be made online.
Winnipeg Free Press
11-07-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Some Ontario doctors can treat family members as regulatory college relaxes rules amid shortage
TORONTO – The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is relaxing its policy against doctors treating themselves, family members and others close to them amid the province's primary care crisis. Doctors were previously only allowed to treat relatives and other people close to them in emergencies or for minor conditions if no other qualified health-care professional was readily available. Now, doctors can provide other medical care — including ordering tests and treating illnesses and injuries — if there isn't another option, such as virtual care, or an alternate health-care provider within a reasonable distance. The college says on its website the updated policy responds to 'current access to care challenges in Ontario,' and recognizes that patients in smaller communities, including Indigenous communities, may only have access to a doctor who is related to them or close to them. However, it also says that physicians can't provide treatment to themselves or friends and family on an ongoing basis. Doctors also can't do intimate examinations or prescribe narcotics to people close to them, except in an emergency. The policy appears to have been updated on the college's website in May and the changes were published in the June issue of its digital publication. In an emailed response, a spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said the CPSO is 'an independent regulatory body, which in Ontario is independently responsible for setting the rules and regulations that physicians need to follow.' Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. She also said the provincial government is 'investing $2.1 billion to connect every single person in the province to primary care — and that will continue to be our focus.' The CPSO did not immediately respond to request for comment. -With files from Allison Jones This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2025. Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Toronto Star
08-07-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
More people will be at risk for HIV and Hep C as needle distribution banned at Ontario's new addiction treatment hubs, critics say
A decision to prohibit sterile needle distribution at the province's Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs will put more people at risk of HIV and Hepatitis C transmission, says a coalition urging the government to reverse its policy. More than 600 individuals and organizations signed a letter sent to Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones on Monday. The signatories say the policy is not evidence-based and could discourage vulnerable Ontarians from accessing other health-care services offered at HART Hubs.
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Nursing gets a shot in the arm from province
Georgian College's nursing students are getting a boost from the government to the tune of $250,000 to learn how to prescribe medication. This will make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to include RN prescribing studies in undergraduate programs. 'This investment will help ensure our nursing workforce is able to meet the demands of our aging population and will safeguard stability in our healthcare system for years to come,' said MPP for Barrie – Springwater – Oro-Medonte Doug Downey. 'By creating a more comprehensive undergraduate curriculum, we are preparing students for in-demand jobs and setting them up for the future. MPP for Barrie – Innisfil Andrea Khanjin said the new nursing curriculum will ensure nurses will be able to access high-quality education. 'With this investment for Georgian College, we are empowering the next generation of healthcare professionals with the tools they need to provide enhanced, patient-centered care right here in Barrie,' said Khanjin. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones said the investment in education and training for nurses will build a better Ontario for years to come. 'This investment will help ensure families can connect to the care they need no matter where they live, while also supporting the next generation of health-care professionals,' said Jones.
Ottawa Citizen
04-07-2025
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
Ontario adding 20,000 publicly funded hip and knee surgeries at private clinics
Some Ontario residents will undergo hip and knee surgeries at private clinics under a $115 million expansion announced by Health Minister Sylvia Jones this week. Article content Jones said the move will add up to 20,000 OHIP-covered orthopedic surgeries and reduce wait times. The province issued a call for applications in what is being called a significant shift toward more privatization of health care across the province. Article content Article content Article content The long-promised move to creating standalone surgical facilities for orthopedic surgeries in Ontario has been promoted as a means of reducing wait times and taking pressure off hospitals. But critics note that many hospital operating rooms sit empty much of the time. With more funding, they could do more surgeries. Meanwhile, research from Alberta suggests a similar shift in provincial health dollars to private surgery operators has undermined the public health system, increased wait times for some key surgeries and increased health-care costs. Article content Article content At least one of the community surgical centres will likely be located in Ottawa. In 2023, the Ottawa Hospital formed a partnership with a group of orthopedic surgeons known as the Academic Orthopedic Surgical Associates of Ottawa. The group, known as AOAO, has been renting vacant operating room space at Riverside Hospital and performing orthopedic day surgeries on low-acuity patients on weekends. Article content Article content At the time, TOH President and CEO Cameron Love said the hospital planned to work with AOAO and the province to build a private, standalone surgical centre that would function as The Ottawa Hospital's 'high efficiency' orthopedic centre for patients requiring day surgery, leaving more complex cases for hospital operating rooms. He said the proposed facility would operate full time, in contrast to the weekend surgeries currently performed at Riverside. New rules around private surgical centres appear to prohibit groups from renting existing hospital space. Article content The plan for stand-alone orthopedic surgical centres comes a week after Jones announced a $155 million investment to add 57 surgical and diagnostic centres for MRIs, CT scans and GI endoscopy services, which provincial officials said would connect 1.2 million people to the services. The province has said it will announce the locations of those facilities in the coming weeks. Article content There have long been for-profit independent health facilities offering diagnostic and other procedures, along with cataract surgery in Ontario. There are currently 900 community surgical diagnostic centres in the province, the majority of which offer diagnostic imaging. The latest announcement represents a new expansion into standalone clinics for orthopedic surgeries, something done in other provinces, notably Alberta. Article content Research by Andrew Longhurst of the Alberta-based Parkland Institute has found that hip, knee and shoulder surgeries outsourced to private, for-profit providers in Alberta cost more and contribute to rising wait times for other surgeries, including colorectal cancer surgery. Article content In an interview, Longhurst said a key concern of the influx of health dollars to private operators is the negative impact it has on the public hospital system. Article content Article content 'Public hospitals are being starved of staff and funding, while private providers receive inflated payments for the lowest complexity surgeries,' Longhurst said. Article content Article content Among those concerns is that the opening of private surgical centres for the least complex cases worsens shortages of anesthsiologists and surgical nurses in the public system, increasing wait times for more complex cases, he said. Article content Longhurst also said funding privately-operated surgical centres also opens the door for upselling or extra billing. Article content 'We hope we don't see the pervasive extra billing we have seen in other provinces,' Longhurst said. But he noted that numerous Ontario patients have complained about being upsold or charged extra for cataract surgery and being unclear about costs, despite assurances from the province that upselling and extra billing would not happen. Article content Article content Longhurst said that unless a provincial government strictly limits procedures in standalone clinics to those covered by OHIP, the water can be muddied in terms of what is legal and what is extra billing by a privately owned clinic. Article content 'All of this – based on patterns and facts from other provinces – makes me quite concerned about the can of worms the government is opening.' Article content Provincial funding to the clinics will consist of facility costs per procedure – $6,530 for primary unilateral hip joint replacement procedures and $5,797 for primary unilateral knee joint replacement procedures. Article content In its call for applications, the Ministry of Health said that funding is considered a 'bundled payment,' meaning it should cover pre-operative and post-operative care and rehabilitation as well as the surgery. The province will not pay for the construction of the centre or any other associated costs. The document says facility costs 'may undergo periodic review or rate review under the sole discretion of the ministry, at any time.'
