Ontario extending funding that helps rural and northern hospitals avoid temporary closures

Ontario is extending funding that helps rural and northern hospitals avoid temporary ER closures, after previously saying it would end after the summer.

A memo this week from the deputy minister of health to affected hospitals says that the Temporary Locum Program, which had been set to expire Sept. 30, will now continue until March 31.

Many northern and rural hospitals rely on doctors from urban areas filling shifts on what is known as a locum basis, and this program was created during the pandemic to pay those doctors a premium for that work.

In the spring, the ministry had told hospitals that after Sept. 30 the program would be wound down, but a spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the ministry had been monitoring the program over the summer.

Hannah Jensen says this summer no hospitals that qualified for the program had to temporarily close their ERs due to physician shortages, and the ministry is working with organizations including the Ontario Medical Association on a permanent solution.

There have been numerous temporary ER closures across the province this year due to staffing shortages, such as a lack of nurses.

The situation is particularly dire in northern Ontario, where the region's remoteness means that in the event of a closure, people may have to travel hours to reach the nearest available hospital.