Major Changes Coming to Hospitals in Brampton

Published November 9, 2017 at 5:33 pm

Brampton Civic emergency room wait times top 2 hours

It’s no secret that Brampton’s health care system is in crisis.

It’s no secret that Brampton’s health care system is in crisis. Overcrowding at Brampton Civic is reaching alarming rates, and residents often say that Peel Memorial is not living up to its full potential.

Over the past few days, Mayor Linda Jeffrey has stepped up to the plate, putting forth a motion that could change the face of Brampton’s hospitals as we know them.

Now, it appears that some of her requests are being acknowledged and acted on by the provincial government.

Today, Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Vic Dhillon, MPP for Brampton West, and Harinder Malhi, MPP for Brampton-Springdale and Jeffrey appeared at Peel Memorial Centre to make announcements regarding the health care crisis in the city and what the province is planning to do to alleviate it. 

At the event, Hoskins announced Brampton Civic Hospital will be getting 37 new beds–all within the coming weeks.

“Over the last two years, we’ve invested $41 million in William Osler Health System. Six news beds were recently announced for Brampton, but we know that more is needed,” Hoskins said before adding that the additional 31 beds will help support the people of Brampton, reduce wait times and help patients get additional care.

Hoskins said the beds will be available before the start of the holiday season.

Brampton Civic isn’t the only health care facility getting attention.

Hoskins also announced that the Ontario government will fund phase two of the redevelopment of Peel Memorial Hospital–a redevelopment that will create, he says, “well over 100 new beds.”

“Brampton is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada if not North America. That growth creates a lot of opportunities for Brampton and for Ontarians but to realize those opportunities people need to be able to access the services that they need on a daily basis,” Hoskins said. “You need to have access to the right healthcare located close to home. That might be something as simple as an appointment with your doctor or nurse practitioner but often it may be more serious and require a visit to your local hospital.”

Currently, the healthcare situation is dire. A whopping 4,300 patients were stuck on hallway stretchers at Brampton Civic during Code Gridlock (extreme overcrowding) for 65 days this year, often for anywhere from 40-70 hours at a time, and that’s just the brunt of it.

The Health Care Motion was a part of Brampton’s City Council meeting on the morning of Wednesday, November 8, 2017.

“Today’s announcement that the province is making 37 more beds available at Brampton Civic Hospital and moving forward with phase 2 at Peel Memorial demonstrates that the province is listening and taking action,” Jeffrey said in a statement. “This announcement by the province is much appreciated news and begins to address the explosive growth our city has been experiencing. These investments are critical to our community and we welcome this decision. My council and I are committed to working closely with the local leaders to continue to advocate for better health care in Brampton.”

There was no news regarding a third health care facility at the event, but additional beds and upcoming redevelopment of the city’s busy urgent care centre could help alleviate some of the strain on the medical system in the city.

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