Achi news desk-
Ontario is extending a program that helps rural and northern hospitals avoid temporary ER closures for another six months.
The province established what is now known as the Temporary Locum Program during the pandemic and has renewed it several times, often at the last minute.
It was due to end again at the end of this month, and the Ministry of Health has now told eligible hospitals that it will now be in force until September 30.
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Many of the province’s more isolated hospitals rely on doctors from urban areas to fill shifts on a locum basis, and the Temporary Locum Program pays them a premium as an incentive.
A spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones has said the government is working on a permanent solution with the Ontario Medical Association.
The NDP’s health critic, France Gelinas, has said that the government needs to find a permanent solution now, instead of constantly renewing the program temporarily at the last minute.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
