Photo courtesy of: CUPE
A new report critical of Ontario’s increased use of private surgical and diagnostic facilities is pointing to what researchers describe as unused capacity at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report says Ontario has increasingly directed publicly funded surgeries and medical imaging to private facilities, while public hospitals have operating rooms and diagnostic equipment that are not operating at full capacity because of staffing and funding constraints.
For Peterborough, the report cites Ontario Health Coalition research indicating PRHC has two MRI machines that are closed overnight on weekdays and close at 3 p.m. on most weekends.
It also says PRHC has 12 operating rooms that generally operate from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and remain closed on weekends. Two operating rooms are available outside those hours for emergencies.
The CCPA argues additional provincial funding could be used to expand operating hours at existing public facilities rather than increasing reliance on private clinics.
Provincewide, the report says the number of surgeries performed at private Integrated Community Health Services Centres increased 117 per cent between 2017 and 2025, compared with a 10-per-cent increase at public hospitals.
It also reports median wait times increased for eight of 12 priority procedures examined between 2017 and 2025, including MRI scans, cataract procedures and cancer surgeries.
The report concludes that Ontario should redirect funding toward expanding staffing and capacity within the public hospital system.
The findings and recommendations represent the position of the CCPA and organizations cited in the report.
