'Beyond emergency': Protesters in Toronto accuse Ford government of 'inaction' amid hospital crisis

Dozens of protesters carrying signs with words like,"overworked, underpaid, overwhelmed, underfunded" gathered in front of a downtown Toronto hospital Monday to speakout against what they say is "inaction" by the Ford government amid overcrowded children's hospitals across the province.

The Ontario Health Coalition (OHC), which represents more than 500 organizations, stagedthe demonstration atToronto General Hospital. The rally was one of several health-care protests across Ontario Monday and on Friday.

"This is beyond emergency," said OHC executive director Natalie Mehra duringa news conference at Queen's Park just before the protest.She saidthe Ford governmenthas failedtoprovide leadership and respond to Ontarianswho are in need of hope.

"We want to show support for the hospital workers and the health-care workers because we know how completely overstretched they are," Mehra added.

Thedemonstrations come as The Canadian Press reports the intensive care unitat Toronto's SickKids hospital is at 120 per cent capacity and has been under immense pressure for weeks.Pediatric hospitals across Ontario are in similar situations, seeing a surge in children with COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Mehra describedreceiving frequent notices of maternity wards, ICUs andemergency departments closing down, overwhelmed pediatric hospitals and an unprecedented crisis in public adult hospitals.

"What more urgent level of care is there? That's it," said Mehra.

"When the hospitals start closing those services, you are actually in collapse at that point."

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Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Alika Lafontaine says the health-care system needs more money, 'but it needs to go to the right places' and it's not going to be 'a quick fix.'

The demonstration also comes days after a four-year-old Simcoe, Ont. boy was flown 350 kilometres to Kingston, Ont. to receive treatment after local hospitals reached capacity.

At a newsconference Monday, Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, who's also the deputy premier, saidthe scenario is an example of hospitals working together to make use ofair ambulanceswhen there are high numbers of pediatric patients.

"It's not ideal as a family to have to have a child that far away, but it is also important to appreciate that by doing that air transport, that child was able to be assessed and treated sooner," said Jones.

Over the past year, the Ford government has saidit is increasing the hiring of health-care staff and will be fast-tracking international graduates to help with the unfolding hospital crisis.

But the OHC saysthe province requires a recruitment drive that will hire tens of thousands of long-term care and hospital staff to stabilize the system.

'Come see for yourself,' ER doctor tells politicians

Dr Raghu Venugopal, an emergency physician in Toronto, attended the protest.

Venugopal told CBC Toronto patients arewaiting three-to-fivedays on stretchers in the emergency wardto be admitted.He said children are waitingforhours for Tylenol. And he said in one case,a patient in her 90swith a fractured spine and bleedingfrom her head due to a fallhad to get aspecialist consultation while stillsitting ina waiting room chair.

Venugopal called on the Ford government not to appeal a recentOntario Superior Courtrulingthat struck down Bill 124, which limited wage for public sector employees, includingnurses and other health-care workers.

"That was a knife in nurses' spleens. Now that that bill has been squashed in court, it's time to let that go. Number 2, we have to keep increasing capacity in hospitals," he said.

His biggest advice to Premier Doug Ford and Jones:come spend a night with an emergency room nurse.

"Come see for yourself what ERs are facing, what families are facing.I think that would educate the premier and deputy premier."

At a news conferencein the Ottawa Valley Monday morning, Premier Doug Ford was asked to address the government's commitment to ensure the province has sufficient access to health care, especially in rural areas.

"It's absolutely critical that we never lose track of rural Ontario, making sure that they have the proper funding to have care right across the board," Fordsaid. The premier addedthatmore14 000 nurses were added this year and that his government increased the health-carebudget.

"This year alone, we're building medical universities in Ontario for the first time in decades and we're going to continue making sure that the needs and and the requirements to keep all rural Ontario healthy [are met]."

'We're really worried'

Back in Toronto, Mehra saidthe OHChas never seen anything like today's state of health-care, describing the situation as an unprecedented emergency.

"The public does not realize the situation we're in unless someone tells them, and they're not being told." she said.

"You would think that [Ford] would be providing some hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for the health-care workers that are struggling, staggering under the burden of patients in these hospitals all around us. But there is nothing of that sort"

According to Mehra, Ontario funds its hospitals at the lowest rate of any province in the country.

The OHC says the Ford government doubled funding for for-profit private clinics in the last quarter of the most recent fiscal yearin an attempt to privatize services.

"We're really worried," said Mehra.