The Ontario Hospital Association may have made it okay to talk about hospital overcrowding.
As we noted January 27, the OHA has been asking the province to look at capacity planning, noting that only Mexico and Chile have fewer hospital beds per capita than Ontario. It’s fair to question where the province is going on this issue given ongoing funding restraint.
Overcrowding has its consequences.
London Health Sciences Centre’s Dr. Michael John is tasked with infection control for the hospital and believes there is a connection between Ontario’s battles with superbugs and overcrowding.
In the Minister of Health’s own backyard, London’s University and Victoria hospitals have averaged 104 and 102 per cent occupancy from April to December last year according to the London Free Press.
Anything in excess of 100 per cent usually means patients are receiving care in the corridors.
OPSEU Diablogue 