Latest news with #hospitalfunding
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Children and patients deserve to be safe in schools and hospitals
Children and patients deserve to be safe and comfortable in schools and hospitals across England, ministers have said as the Government set out funding allocations for building repairs. Around £1.2 billion – part of funding packages announced in last year's autumn budget – will be spent on repairing crumbling schools and hospitals across the country, the Government confirmed. Pupils at 656 schools and sixth forms will benefit from a share of this year's £470 million Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), used for projects like fixing crumbling roofs and removing asbestos. More than 400 hospitals, mental health units and ambulance sites will be handed £750 million to tackle problems such as leaky pipes, poor ventilation and electrical issues. Projects to deliver improvements to schools and hospital buildings will be delivered during the 2025/26 financial year, with the first upgrades to begin this summer, the Government has said. More than 100 schools, nurseries and colleges across England were forced to shut down days before the autumn term in 2023 amid concerns that classrooms and other buildings containing reinforced autoclaved concrete (Raac) were unsafe. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'The defining image of the school estate under the previous government was children sitting under steel props to stop crumbling concrete falling on their heads. It simply isn't good enough. 'Parents expect their children to learn in a safe, warm environment. It's what children deserve and it is what we are delivering. 'This investment is about more than just buildings – it's about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this Government is determined to give them the best possible start in life.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'A decade and a half of underinvestment left hospitals crumbling, with burst pipes flooding emergency departments, faulty electrical systems shutting down operating theatres, and mothers giving birth in outdated facilities that lack basic dignity. 'We are on a mission to rebuild our NHS through investment and modernisation. 'Patients and staff deserve to be in buildings that are safe, comfortable and fit for purpose. Through our Plan for Change, we will make our NHS fit for the future.' A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) in January estimated it would cost around £13.8 billion to address the repairs and remedial work backlog for hospitals and other NHS properties in England, and an additional £13.8 billion to address the maintenance backlog across the school estate. The Department for Education has confirmed a £2.1 billion investment for the school estate for 2025/26, almost £300 million more than the previous year. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, described the funding boost for school buildings as a 'welcome start'. But he added: 'It is clear that much more Government investment and a long-term plan is needed to restore the school estate to at least a satisfactory condition.' Julia Harnden, funding specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: 'The wider problem is that there is a massive £13.8 billion maintenance backlog across the school estate and we are still nowhere near the level of investment needed to address this. 'The fact that schools and sixth form colleges have to bid for funding for urgent repairs and maintenance is in itself a sign of the inadequacy of overall investment and is effectively an annual exercise in papering over the cracks.'
National Post
20-05-2025
- Health
- National Post
Champlain Region Hospital Spending on For-Profit Staffing Agencies Increased by 134 Per Cent Over 10 Years
Article content OTTAWA, Ontario — A new research report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recommends Ontario significantly increase hospital funding while phasing out costly for-profit staffing agencies and making investments in preventative health care. Article content The report Hollowed Out: Ontario public hospitals and the rise of private staffing agencies shows a co-relation between the dramatic growth in agency usage and underfunding of public hospitals over the last decade. Article content Between 2013-14 and 2022-23, Ontario's hospitals paid out $9.2 billion to for-profit staffing agencies that cost up to three times more than employing in-house hospital workers. Article content 'The use of for-profit staffing agencies is part of a vicious cycle that hollows out the public sector workforce, thereby increasing hospitals' dependence on private agencies,' said Andrew Longhurst, research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the report. 'The government must take a range of measures to resolve this crisis, but central to that is increasing hospital funding. The wasteful public spending on private agencies would have never emerged as a problem if Ontario's investments in employed hospital staff kept up with patient needs.' Article content Agency workers consumed six per cent of total hospital labour costs despite only accounting for 0.4 per cent of all frontline hours between 2013-14 and 2022-23. Article content In the Champlain region, which includes Ottawa, spending on for-profit agencies increased by 134 per cent over 10 years to a billion dollars a year by 2022-23. Article content In inflation-adjusted dollars, per person public expenditures on hospital employed staff in the Champlain region increased by merely eight per cent while spending on agency staff rose by 74 per cent during the 10-year period. Article content 'Boom for private profits, austerity for public hospitals' Article content The report notes that Ontario's per-capita funding for hospitals is the lowest across Canada. In the period between 2013 and 2022, the Ontario government made real dollar spending cuts in seven out of 10 years, contributing to insufficient growth in staff relative to demand. Article content Longhurst noted that last week's budget promised more of the same as the funding announced for 2025-26 won't match the growing demand for hospital services. Meanwhile, he said the government had allocated $280 million in funding for for-profit operators to perform surgeries and diagnostic tests, even as hospital departments providing those same services were understaffed and underfunded. Article content 'This appears to be the most significant injection of funding into investor-owned facilities over a two-year period outside of Quebec,' Longhurst said. 'It's very concerning to witness the Ontario government pursuing private expansion of health care services at the cost of intensifying the crisis in the public system. It will predictably result in poorer services for Ontarians at a higher cost.' Article content The report documents a 330 per cent increase in hospital job vacancies since 2015, while employed workers' real incomes declined by 13 per cent and agency usage proliferated. Article content The staffing crisis has precipitated a decline in access to care, according to the report, as evidenced by frequent ER closures and long wait-times. Article content 'Saving our hospital services requires an investment in the staff who deliver them,' said Michael Hurley, the president of CUPE's Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE). 'The government must commit to staffing standards including nurse-to-patient ratios to ensure manageable workloads, which would allow staff to provide care to the best of their abilities, improve morale and retention, and help stabilize the system.' Article content But the system is instead fracturing due to a combination of rising demand, ballooning agency costs, and provincial underfunding, said Longhurst. As a result, nearly half of hospitals faced a budget deficit in 2023-24 with a majority expected to be in arrears this year. Article content Longhurst recommended that Ontario follow the example of British Columbia and create a public sector staffing agency that provides relief to the most beleaguered hospitals, while phasing out private agencies over three years. Article content Other prescriptions to address the crisis include the development of a health care staffing strategy, and investments in hospital services ($2 billion annual increase) as well as primary and community care. Article content 'We can't afford to underfund much-needed hospital care even as other services are also required,' he said. 'We can have better primary and community care and well-funded hospitals to meet the health care needs of Ontario's residents.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
National Post
12-05-2025
- Health
- National Post
New Study Reveals Ontario Spent $9.2 Billion on For-Profit Staffing Agencies Over 10 Years, Blames Crisis on Underinvestment in Hospitals and Preventative Health Care
Article content Article content TORONTO — A new research report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recommends Ontario make significant increases in hospital funding while phasing out costly for-profit staffing agencies and making investments in preventative health care. Article content The report Hollowed Out: Ontario public hospitals and the rise of private staffing agencies shows a co-relation between the dramatic growth in agency usage and underfunding of public hospitals over the last decade. Article content Between 2013-14 and 2022-23, Ontario's hospitals paid out $9.2 billion to for-profit staffing agencies that cost up to three times more than employing in-house hospital workers. Article content Agency workers consumed six per cent of total hospital labour costs despite only accounting for 0.4 per cent of all frontline hours. Over the 10-year period in question, hospitals doubled their spending on staffing agencies while their costs on employed staff rose by merely six per cent. Article content 'The use of for-profit staffing agencies is part of a vicious cycle that hollows out the public sector workforce, thereby increasing hospitals' dependence on private agencies,' said Andrew Longhurst, research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the report. 'The government must take a range of measures to resolve this crisis, but central to that is increasing hospital funding. The wasteful public spending on private agencies would have never emerged as a problem if Ontario's investments in employed hospital staff kept up with patient needs.' Article content The report notes that Ontario's per-capita funding for hospitals is the lowest across Canada. In the period between 2013 and 2022, the Ontario government made real dollar spending cuts in seven out of 10 years, contributing to insufficient growth in staff relative to demand. Article content The increasingly heavier workloads combined with real dollar wage cuts fueled a 330 per cent increase in job vacancies since 2015. During this period, hospital staff incomes declined by 13 per cent. Article content The staffing crisis has precipitated a decline in access to care, according to the report, as evidenced by frequent ER closures and long wait-times. Article content 'Saving our hospital services requires an investment in the staff who deliver them,' said Michael Hurley, the president of CUPE's Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU-CUPE). 'The government must commit to staffing standards including nurse-to-patient ratios to ensure manageable workloads, which would allow staff to provide care to the best of their abilities, improve morale and retention, and help stabilize the system.' Article content But the system is instead fracturing due to a combination of rising demand, ballooning agency costs, and provincial underfunding, said Longhurst. As a result, nearly half of hospitals faced a budget deficit in 2023-24 with a majority expected to be in arrears this year. Budgetary issues disproportionately impact small and Northern Ontario hospitals. Article content Agency usage varies across the province but has grown in all but one of the 14 regions of Ontario since 2013. In rural and northern regions – where shortages are often most severe – agency costs jumped: they increased by 480 per cent in the North West, by 372 per cent in North Simcoe Muskoka, and by 216 per cent in the North East. Article content Longhurst recommended that Ontario follow the example of British Columbia and create a public sector staffing agency that provides relief to the most beleaguered hospitals, while phasing out private agencies over three years. Article content Other prescriptions to address the crisis include the development of a health care staffing strategy, and investments in hospital services ($2 billion annual increase) as well as primary and community care. Article content 'We can't afford to underfund much-needed hospital care even as other services are also required,' he said. 'We can have better primary and community care and well-funded hospitals to meet the health care needs of Ontario's residents.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content
National Post
09-05-2025
- Health
- National Post
New Report Shows For-Profit Staffing Agencies Drained $9.2 Billion From Ontario's Hospitals Over 10-Year Period
Article content CCPA research study exploring the intersection of hospital underfunding and growth of private staffing agencies to be released at Queen's Park on Monday morning Article content Article content TORONTO — The staffing crisis stemming from chronic underfunding of Ontario's hospitals has fueled a dramatic growth in the usage of for-profit staffing agencies to the tune of $9.2 billion, according to a new research study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Article content Drawing on data obtained from multiple sources including Ontario hospitals' financial documents, Hollowed Out: Ontario Public Hospitals and the Rise of Private Staffing Agencies takes a deep dive into the intersection between insufficient hospital funding and the proliferation of staffing agencies across the 14 regions of the province. The study points out the worst-affected regions and hospitals with respect to the reliance on agency usage and hospital deficits. Article content On Monday morning at Queen's Park, Andrew Longhurst, the author of the study, will be joined by Michael Hurley, the president of CUPE's hospital division, to reveal detailed findings from the in-depth research report as well as recommendations to address the hospital staffing crisis. Article content When: 11 a.m. on Monday, May 12 Where: Queen's Park Media Studio, 111 Wellesley St. W, Toronto What: Media conference to release findings of new research report about growth in private staffing agencies and underfunding of Ontario's hospitals Who: Andrew Longhurst, B.A. (Hons), M.A., political economist, PhD candidate, Simon Fraser University, and author of the new report. Previous publications include At What Cost? Ontario Hospital Privatization and the Threat to Public Health Care (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2023) and Failing to Deliver: The Alberta Surgical Initiative and Declining Surgical Capacity (Parkland Institute, 2023). Michael Hurley, President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, CUPE since 1990 representing 50,000 Ontario hospital employees. Under his leadership, OCHU/CUPE has published numerous research reports on Ontario's hospitals including, recently, No Respite: Ontario's Failure to Plan for Hospital Patients (2024). Hurley has also co-authored multiple studies on health care workers including Sacrificed: Ontario Health Care Workers in the Time of COVID-19. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content Article content
