Ontario will be short 33,000 nurses and PSWs by 2028, financial watchdog projects – CBC

Province will be short $21B to cover its commitments to expand hospitals, long-term and home care

Mar 08, 2023

Ontario is projected to be short 33,000 nurses and personal support workers by 2028 despite Premier Doug Ford’s investment in the sector, the province’s fiscal watchdog said in a special health-care report released Wednesday.

The Financial Accountability Office (FAO), which is a body that provides independent analysis on the state of Ontario’s finances, also says the government will be short $21 billion to cover its commitments over a six-year period to expand hospitals, long-term care and home care.

Ontario’s health-care system has buckled in recent years with severe staffing shortages that have led to temporary emergency room closures, a massive surgical backlog and fed-up patients.

And according to Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman, “challenges are expected to persist across Ontario’s health-care system.

“Relative to projected growth in demand, by 2027-28, Ontario will have less hospital capacity, similar home-care capacity and less long-term care capacity compared to what it had in 2019-20,” wrote Weltman in the report.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/fao-health-care-report-1.6771824