Ontario government announces next phase of ‘Plan to Stay Open’

DAN CEARNS, The Standard

NORTH DURHAM/KAWARTHA: Ontario government officials have announced the next phase of their ‘Plan to Stay Open’, which will support the current crisis in hospitals and care facilities.

The document, labelled ‘Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recovery,’ contains several measures, including introducing legislation which would “support patients, whose doctors have said they no longer need hospital treatment and should instead be placed in a long-term care home, while they wait for their preferred home.” The government is also “investing more, to increase surgeries in pediatric hospitals and existing private clinics covered by OHIP.” While implementing new measures, the government has committed to continue to provide COVID-19 and flu shots to Ontarians, “so they can stay up to date with their vaccinations, to protect themselves and reduce the number of hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses,” an Ontario government press release explained.

With everything combined, the plan calls for the hiring of “up to 6,000 additional health care workers.”

Sylvia Jones, the Minister of Health, stated, during a press conference, on Thursday, August 18th, Ontario “has fared better than most jurisdictions” during the pandemic. She added, this new plan identifies “concrete and actionable solutions, to respond to urgent pressures, as well as to prepare for any expected surge in the winter months.”

To read the full plan, go online to news.ontario.ca.

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