A report by the Fraser Institute think-tank shows that median wait times for Ontarians requiring medically necessary treatment has nearly doubled over the past quarter-century.
The study shows that in 1993 the wait time was 9.1 weeks but that by 2018 the wait time had increased to 15.4 weeks.
All three political parties were in power over this time period at one time or another.
The NDP held power for two years of the study period, the Tories were in power for eight years while the Liberals were the government for the last 15 years of the time frame in question.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli is largely blaming the Liberals for the increase in wait times saying they didn’t put enough money into healthcare.
Fedeli says a major area where the Liberals dropped the ball was in long-term care by not creating more nursing beds.
He says when seniors are in need of long-term care but there are no beds for them he says there’s only one other place for them to go and that’s the hospital.
“And that’s a very expensive place for them to be,” he said.
Fedeli says this has occurred across Ontario “so that when seniors were admitted to hospitals, they ended up staying for quite a length of time.”
The result he says was hallway healthcare where Ontarians face longer wait times because there are only so many healthcare professionals in hospitals to look after the patients.
“That’s the case,” Fedeli said.
“The solution is we’re announcing 15,000 long-term care beds.”
Fedeli says some of those beds will end up in different parts of Northern Ontario including Nipissing District although the exact number has not yet been determined.
Some of the nursing beds are expected to head to Trout Creek which saw a loss of beds when the Lady Isabelle nursing home closed in 2017.
