As Ontario’s hospitals grapple with staff shortages, temporary emergency room closures and surgical backlogs, the province has announced a suite of changes in an effort to help stabilize the health-care system – although it maintains patients will not have to pay out of pocket for any of them. Here’s a look at some of the measures:
SURGERIES AT PRIVATE CLINICS
The province says it will increase the number of publicly covered surgeries performed at private clinics, which Health Minister Sylvia Jones says can help take some pressure off hospitals by reducing the surgical backlog.
Jones did not directly answer a question about whether she would consider allowing more private clinics to operate in Ontario….