December 2nd, 2020
December 2nd, 2020
QUEEN’S PARK – NDP MPP Catherine Fife (Waterloo) says Doug Ford is responsible for Grand River Hospital in Kitchener being forced to postpone elective surgeries this week, after he failed to prepare for the second wave and refused to spend the money on public health protections, that’s left the region facing a health care crisis and a potential lockdown.
“As hospitals across the province are struggling under a surging second wave, Ontarians are worried about what these pressures are going to mean for their own health care. Now, in my region, the Grand River Hospital has had to pause some surgeries this week because their ICU is over capacity. Which means even more people waiting for potentially life altering health care because of this government’s failure to prevent the second wave,” Fife said during question period Wednesday at the Ontario Legislature.
“What does the premier have to say to the families in Kitchener-Waterloo who are now stressed and suffering because of his poor planning?,” Fife asked Ford.
The response to Fife’s question came from Ford’s minister of health who refused to commit any new funding or resources to the region, or any support for Grand River Hospital. The Minister claimed there is “no health crisis in Ontario”, which Fife says will come as news to folks in Kitchener who won’t get their scheduled surgeries.
Fife says it’s not just Grand River Hospital that’s facing a capacity crunch right now. St Mary’s and Cambridge Memorial Hospital in the region are also close to hitting capacity as well, and ICU numbers and hospitalizations continue to grow each and every day in every region of the province.
“Ontario is at a breaking point thanks to this government’s choices and failure to invest in robust public health protections,” said Fife. “What is the premier going to do to ensure that our hospitals have the support they need to get through this crisis?”