LENNOX: Scarborough needs better health care, not empty promises

QUEEN’S PARK — Ontario NDP Shadow Minister with responsibility for Primary Care Robin Lennox (Hamilton Centre) pressed Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones during today's Question Period to stop talking about investments, and start bringing solutions to help the people of Scarborough access health care:

“In Scarborough, patients wait nearly 20 hours in the emergency department before they get a hospital bed,” said Lennox. “Meanwhile, at Hamilton General Hospital, the Urgent Medical Day Unit is providing hospital-level care, testing, and consultation, reducing pressure on our emergency departments and preventing hospital admissions. Why aren’t we exploring innovative solutions like this?

“One in six people in Scarborough don’t have a primary care provider. Many International Medical Graduates plan to enter into family medicine, but the Ford government is putting up more barriers for them to train and practice in Ontario.

“Ontarians aren’t interested in how much money the Conservatives are throwing at the problem. They want to know about impact. They want to know what has changed. After eight years of the Ford government, can the Minister point to a single measurable outcome — not investment — that has improved hallway health care in Scarborough?”