The Ontario Liberal government's 4.6% increase in hospital funding for 2018-2019 is the biggest boost Bluewater Health's CEO says he's seen in years.
Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Thursday an additional $822-million will help cut wait times and address capacity issues that have plagued many of the province's hospitals.
While specific details are unknown locally, Mike Lapaine is encouraged that some of the funding will come this way.
"We have pretty good wait times right now for CT, MRI and hip and knee replacements," says Lapaine. "So any new money will be committed to ensuring we maintain those wait times."
Ontario's Financial Accountability Office warned last week that without additional health spending, quality of care could be compromised in the future because of a growing and aging population.
Thursday's announcement was the third major funding promise the Liberal government has made in as many days ahead of the June 7 election.
