For too long, Scarborough has been left behind when it comes to healthcare funding. The people of Scarborough, many of them immigrants to Canada, work hard, contribute to our economy and pay their taxes. Home to many essential workers, Scarborough has borne much of the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and yet never received funding that would account for our increasing population and growing complexity of care.
We need a commitment to improve access and wait times for family doctors so families in Scarborough can get checkups and treatments when they need them without delay and stress.
Despite being one of the most populated areas of Toronto, Scarborough has been faced with limited funding for the maintenance of its hospitals and critical staff shortages. Hospitals in Scarborough have been neglected and forced to operate not only with lack of resources inside but also in old buildings that are physically deteriorating year after year. With only one emergency room for the population of 650 000, residents in Scarborough face extremely long wait times, a shortage of nurses and a system that’s stretched to its breaking point.
Throughout her four years in office, Doly has been a passionate advocate for better healthcare in Scarborough. In the Ontario Legislature, she has consistently been a voice for Scarborough healthcare workers and patients who have been desperately asking the Ontario government to provide adequate funds for their hospitals. When Scarborough neighbourhoods were reported to have disproportionately high levels of positive COVID-19 rates in 2021, Doly successfully advocated for Scarborough residents to achieve accessibility and equity during COVID-19 vaccines distribution.
Doly and the ONDP have a plan to:
- Implement Universal Pharmacare, to ensure that all Ontarians would be able to access the prescriptions they need
- Increase hospital funding by 5.3%, so all hospitals are able to receive the adequate support necessary for the needs of the patients
- Clear the backlog of surgeries
- Hire more nurses
- Construct more hospitals and expand existing ones, including new hospital beds in Scarborough
- Make mental health care a part of our universal healthcare system
Healthcare is a human right, and we must invest in our healthcare system.
Do you agree?