Province to invest $5.7 million in southwestern Ontario hospitals

Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital on Jan. 16, 2021. (Brent Lale/CTV London)

Three hospitals across southwestern Ontario will receive a boost in funding following an announcement from the province on Tuesday.

According to a release from Monte McNaughton, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, an additional $5.7 million will be invested into three regional hospitals to “deliver faster, more convenient access to care closer to patients’ homes,” including emergency department services, trauma, pediatrics, obstetrics, cancer care and mental health services.

The three hospitals receiving the funding include the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital, Four Counties Health Services and the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance.

The funding allocation for the three hospitals is as follows:

• Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital - $1,140,200
• Four Counties Health Services - $201,000
• Chatham-Kent Health Alliance - $4,180,300 

“Community hospitals are the bedrock of southwestern Ontario,” said McNaughton. “From emergency rooms to surgeries and mental health support, this investment will ensure families have access to fast and reliable healthcare, where and when they need it."

Tuesday’s funding is part of an additional $850 million investment by the province to ensure all public hospitals receive funding increase of at least two per cent as part of ‘A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care.’ In addition, an additional $125 million of funding will go towards reducing wait times for surgeries, procedures and diagnostic imaging.

“By providing hospitals with this extra layer of support, we are supporting future growth, reducing wait times and ensuring Ontarians can connect to the care they need when and where they need it” said Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health in a statement.

An additional $22 million in funding was also announced to establish the ‘Small and Northern Hospital Stabilization Fund,’ in response to “the unique challenges faced by small, northern hospitals” across the province.

“Chatham-Kent Health Alliance welcomes this latest funding announcement, providing for the sustainability of core services at the hospital’s Chatham and Wallaceburg sites,” said Lori Marshall, president and CEO of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. “This support ensures we can continue the delivery of safe, high quality core services for patients and their families.”