“An unprecedented failure of leadership,” Ontario Health Coalition tracked 2023 hospital closures

Posted: December 8, 2023

(December 7, 2023)

By: Lake 88.1 News

The Ontario Health Coalition released a report Tuesday which they say paints a stark picture of the province’s healthcare system.

The report tracked the closures of hospital services in 2023 and found a total of 1,200 temporary or permanent closures across Ontario occurred.

OHC Executive Director Natalie Mehra says these are jarring figures.

Mehra says public trust is gone.

Mehra made those remarks front of Queens Park in Toronto, where she put a lot of the blame on what the OHC calls “an unprecedented failure of leadership,” saying the staffing crisis has been compounded by policy decisions.

There were 868 temporary or permanent emergency department closures in 2023.

Locally, the Almonte General Hospital emergency department closed four times overnight due to staffing shortages, the Carleton Place site closed 11 times overnight, and the Smiths Falls birthing unit temporarily closed once.