New data obtained by Global News shows 26 per cent of Ontario's hospital buildings are in poor condition and five buildings need to be replaced entirely.
Ontario’s network of publicly owned hospitals is in significant need of investment and repair, internal government documents reveal, with more than a quarter of all hospitals in the province listed as being in poor condition.also have a repair backlog so large that it would be more cost-effective to replace them entirely than pay for the necessary repairs or upgrades.
Global News asked the Ministry of Health to volunteer an unredacted list that named individual buildings but a spokesperson declined, citing concerns about third-party confidentiality. The hospital in Ontario considered to be in the worst condition is located in the South Western LHIN, which includes London, Woodstock and Owen Sound.
For example, a 0.0 ranking means the hospital building is brand new and not in need of repair. Scores of 0.1 are considered good, below 0.3 is fair and above 0.3 is poor, a provincial document explains. If the cost of replacing the building is equal to repairs or cheaper, then the score will be closer to 1.0.
Tamer El-Direaby, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Toronto, said the method used to generate the scores, which is standard practice across the industry, is far from perfect.“When you evaluate an asset, you are basically trying to add apples and oranges and bananas and they are not in the same unit,” he said.
Ontario NDP MPP France Gélinas said that, although poorly maintained buildings may not directly impact the care a doctor gives, they can slow down treatment. She also said even small issues with a building, like cracks in windows, can make an already stressful hospital visit much worse. Toronto-based University Health Network has a hotline where patients can report issues with their rooms like broken blinds or showers, Smith added.
Smith said UHN spends about $40 million per year on its repairs. The province provides around $10 million of that number, while the rest is made up from local donations to the hospital’s fundraising arm.
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