It has been pointed out that the shortage of family doctors across Ontario is causing congestion in hospital emergency rooms. In the annual audit report released on the 6th, Vice Director Nick Stavropoulos of the Ontario Audit Office said, “One in five patients visiting the emergency room was not in need of urgent care,” and “They had to rely on the emergency room because they did not have a family doctor.”
This audit report is based on an investigation into the actual conditions of the emergency room at the Wenzhou hospital, medical services, and long-term nursing homes in the northern region of Wenzhou. Deputy Director Stavropoulos pointed out, “Because the Ontario government does not have a medical policy covering the entire province, it was unable to properly respond to the medical manpower shortage, resulting in a situation where emergency rooms were closed on a large scale.”
He said, “As of June of this year, over 200 emergency rooms have closed in the past 12 months,” adding, “This is due to a shortage of nurses.” The audit report released on this day pointed out, “Hospitals are still facing difficulties due to a shortage of doctors and nurses,” and added, “Patients are waiting an average of two hours to receive medical attention, and in some cases, it takes up to 24 hours.”
The report emphasized that “hospitals are relying on job placement agencies to supply nursing staff and are bearing high costs,” and that “measures at the state government level are inadequate.”