The Ontario government is providing more than $3.4 million to the hospital in Peterborough to support on-call funding for doctors working after hours.
On Friday, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith announced the province is providing $3,471,232 to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) for on-call support for physicians.
Smith says the funding follows through on past agreements between the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Ontario Medical Association to increase dedicated funding for physicians on-call at nearly 100 acute-care hospitals.
“This funding increase will help PRHC by increasing the number of physicians available for patients when the hospital needs that extra support,” he said. “This is just one more step the province is taking to ensure the right level of care is available when it is needed and further help reduce wait times for the people of the greater Peterborough area.”
Dr. Lynn Mikula, president and CEO of PRHC, says the funding will support after-hours care and allow for more stable after-hours coverage.
“On behalf of PRHC, I want to thank MPP Smith, Ontario Health and the Ministry of Health for today’s exciting announcement,” said Mikula.
“This funding for on-call support will have benefits for both our physicians and our patients, and help to ensure that the people of our community and region have better access to the care they need, when they need it.”
Minister of Health Sylvia Jones notes the investment recognizes the efforts of health-care workers, especially those who provide on-call services in addition to their regular working hours.
“Our government is ensuring hospitals have the funds needed so that their doctors can deliver high-quality care at any time of the day or night,” stated Jones. “For patients visiting hospitals across Ontario, this funding means they’ll receive the care they need when it is needed.”
More to come…