Province adding $3.79M to tackle hallway healthcare at Cobourg hospital

The Ontario government is providing Cobourg’s hospital with an additional $3.79 million to address the so-called “hallway healthcare.”

On Friday morning at Northumberland Hills Hospital, Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini said the funding sends a clear message that the Ministry of Health has identified longstanding funding shortages in medium-sized hospital and that the province is “committed to fixing these inequities.”

The funding follows $1 million announced for the hospital in June.

“Our government is continuing to support our local hospitals by ensuring they have the resources they need to meet the growing needs of our community,” stated Piccini. “I look forward to continuing to work with the professional, hard-working team at Northumberland Hills Hospital as they deliver high-quality, patient-centered care to the residents of Northumberland.”

2:44 Ontario government increases hospital funding to address ‘hallway medicine’

Linda Davis, hospital president and CEO, said the announcement is a “turning point” in the evolution of the hospital and will allow them to undo the recent consolidation of the medical/surgical inpatient care.

“We know all too well what our priority needs are. We have — until now— been unable to fully invest in them.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We know all too well what our priority needs are. We have — until now— been unable to fully invest in them."

“At the top of our to-do list is the redistribution of medical-surgical inpatient beds across both 2B and 2A units,” she stated.

“In 2016 NHH made the difficult decision to consolidate medical/surgical inpatient care onto the 2B side in order to gain needed efficiencies. Shortly thereafter patient volumes surged and what was envisioned as a manageable 36-bed 2B unit swelled dramatically to a 52-bed unit.”

Davis said that situation was not ideal for patients, their families or hospital staff. Friday’s funding announcement, she says, will allow the hospital to re-open 2A and return its 2B and 2A medical/surgical units to “appropriate sizes better able to care for the high volumes of patients”

“While still – and this is key – maintaining a balanced budget,” she said.

“It will also permit us to plan for much needed improvements in our ED, mental health and ambulatory care programs, all of which will contribute to easing hallway healthcare for our community.”

Hospital Board Chair Pam Went thanked the government for the “new stability.” She said the funds will be added to the base funding, meaning the days of “struggling” with one-time funding allotments that impeded the board’s ability to plan sustainably for the future are “at long last behind us.”

“The health system funding reforms of the past decade disadvantaged medium-sized community hospitals like our own, at precisely the same time that patient needs were on the rise.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The health system funding reforms of the past decade disadvantaged medium-sized community hospitals like our own, at precisely the same time that patient needs were on the rise."

Northumberland County warden Bob Sanderson (also mayor of Port Hope) said the investment will have a significant impact on alleviating hallway medicine.

“By rectifying an historical inequity in hospital funding formulas, the province is ensuring that the dedicated staff, physicians and volunteers of NHH have the support they need to continue delivering excellent care to local residents,” he said. “I want to thank MPP Piccini for his continued advocacy on behalf of the community, and also thank the province for its partnership in ensuring quality healthcare is available in Northumberland.”

Piccini says the investment is on top of the $384 million that Ontario hospital’s received this year as part of the 2019 provincial budget.

2:15 Thousands rally to protest Ontario heath care Changes