CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions has released a report projecting the financial pressures hospitals will be facing over the next five years.
Sault Ste. Marie was the 2nd stop for the union on Friday following the release of the report in Thunder Bay earlier in the week and it zeros in on the impacts for 30 of the larger communities in the province.
OCHU President Michael Hurley says when you factor in such things as the increasing costs of drugs, medical technology, and doctor salaries, hospitals in Ontario will actually be facing a cut of over 2% despite a 1.8% increase in healthcare spending provided in the March provincial budget.
Hurley says in the budget document for the next five years, there is a plan to cut 8 billion dollars or about 15% out of the healthcare budget.
At the same time, larger regional centres like the Sault will see an increase in demand…

The report projects the Sault over the next five years will see a loss of about 29 hospital beds and 240 staff.