Horwath Promises Expedited Third Hospital for Brampton if Elected

Brampton | Ontario | Latest News |

Published May 14, 2018 at 8:07 pm

As the provincial election approaches on June 7, we’re in the thick of campaign season.

As the provincial election approaches on June 7, we’re in the thick of campaign season. The NDP’s Andrea Horwath, the PC party’s Doug Ford, and current Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne are revealing some of the most salient bits of their platforms, and among those is a new hospital for Brampton from the NDP.

Horwath announced on Monday May 14 that, if elected, the NDP would fast track a third hospital for Brampton. 

Horwath has also promised that the NDP will expand Peel Memorial if elected, “building it up to a full hospital” according to a recent release from the NDP. 

According to Horwath, that entails having Peel Memorial operate 24 hours a day and expediting Phase 2, the Peel Memorial expansion.

“With three hospitals in Brampton, the NDP will end hallway medicine in the city that’s seen thousands of patients each year treated in the hallways of its overcrowded and only hospital,” reads the release.

According to the NDP, the third hospital and Peel Memorial expansion would be a part of a $19 billion investment in Ontario hospitals over 10 years.

That includes “an immediate injection of $1.2 billion to end hallway medicine and address the overcrowding crisis,” reads the release.

It’s true that Peel Memorial’s Phase 2 expansion is already in the works. 

Whether and how soon the NDP might be able to deliver remains to be seen. 

The City of Brampton has already committed to protecting new lands for a third hospital in the city.

It’s true that Brampton’s hospitals are facing immense overcrowding. 

In fact, a whopping 4,352 patients were stuck on hallway stretchers at Brampton Civic during Code Gridlock (extreme overcrowding) for 65 days from January through April in 2017, often for anywhere from 40-70 hours at a time, and that’s just the brunt of it.

2017 was also the year when chronic overcrowding got worse in Brampton. Occupancy rates in acute care were stuck at over 100 per cent and often reached as high as 114 per cent at Brampton Civic.

“Evidence shows that within the next couple of years – within the next two decades – there’s going to be at least a need for close to 800 new beds,” claimed Horwath at a recent press conference.

You can see her full statement here:

Cover photo courtesy of Horwath on Twitter

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