Ontario’s long COVID strategy is ‘insufficient’ and ‘unsustainable’: ministry documents – CTV
May 3, 2023
Ontario’s lack of a long COVID strategy has led the health sector to cobble together “fragmented” clinics that are at risk of closure and may lead to little to no support for patients, internal Ministry of Health documents warn.
Long COVID is not yet well understood, but the current and likely rising volume of patients will have an effect on Ontario’s recovery and may place added pressures on emergency rooms, say the documents obtained under a Freedom of Information request.
“Ontario does not have a coordinated approach to care for patients with PCC (Post COVID-19 Condition),” the health ministry’s strategic policy branch wrote last June.
“While some providers are responding to the immediate demand for post-COVID care, these offerings are insufficient, fragmented, and unsustainable without dedicated funding.”
