Horwath takes Ford to task for pushing Sudbury hospital near code orange

Under Doug Ford, Ontario’s hospitals are in an even worse crisis. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath went to bat for Sudbury’s Health Sciences North in question period Thursday as the hospital deals with overcrowding on the verge of a code orange.

A code orange is called when a disaster results in mass casualties, straining the hospital’s resources.

“For over a week now, the Sudbury hospital, Health Sciences North, has been struggling with a serious overcapacity challenge,” said Horwath.

“Last weekend the hospital cancelled six surgeries and took the step of urging the public to expect longer wait times and more hallway medicine — patients being treated in hallways, closets and bathrooms.

“They now say they are on the verge of declaring a Code Orange. The problems of hallway medicine are getting worse under Doug Ford’s watch.”

The government’s hospital funding barely keeps pace with inflation, much less the growing needs of an aging population, and funding cuts to eHealth, to public health, to overdose prevention and mental health, and to health research only exacerbate the problem, and crowd hospitals further.

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