With the election less than 15 weeks away, the Wynne government has announced an additional $35-million in funding for London hospitals.
London North Centre MPP Deb Matthews made the announcement Friday morning. The $35-million coming to the London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph's Health Care in 2018-2019 is part of the $822-million in additional hospital funding announced this week by Premier Kathleen Wynne. The LHSC will get about $24-million, while roughly $11-million will go to St. Joseph's.
"Patients and families across Ontario will also directly benefit from this increased funding with the expansion of essential services to reduce wait times and priority procedures such as cardiac care, critical care, chemotherapy, treatment for strokes, hip and knee replacements, and medical imaging," the government said in a news release issued Friday morning.
But the opposition has criticized the Wynne Liberals for their recent funding announcements regarding hospital funding, mental health care funding, and expansion of the OHIP Plus program to include seniors.
In response to the Throne Speech, in which some of these announcements were hinted at, PC leader Doug Ford said it's clear the Liberals are looking to buy votes.
“Kathleen Wynne has made commitments on billions in new spending for expensive re-election promises in a desperate attempt to try and save her government," he said Monday. "The Liberals are trying to buy votes from a few of us, instead of trying to fix our province for all of us."
NDP leader Andrea Horwath also issue with the timing of the funding announcements, saying "Last year, Kathleen Wynne shortchanged Ontario hospitals by $300-million, and this year’s announcement shortchanges them by another $100 million. This new funding won’t fix the overcrowding crisis in our hospitals, and it won’t end hallway medicine."
Regardless of the politics involved, the leaders of the two London hospitals seem grateful for the additional funding. Dr. Gillian Kernaghan, President and CEO of St. Joseph's, said in a statement that the hospital is "delighted" that the government is investing more money in hospitals, while LHSC President and CEO Dr. Paul Woods said the hospital welcomes the additional investment that will "help make a positive difference to our patients.”