QUEEN’S PARK – During question period Thursday, Monique Taylor, MPP for Hamilton Mountain, showed Premier Kathleen Wynne how much she is hurting Ontarians with her cuts to hospitals, by sharing a heart-breaking story of one Hamilton couple.
“Steven is a Hamiltonian who was waiting for a liver transplant. On his way to an appointment at St. Joseph's to remove fluid from his abdomen, Steven fell in the parking lot, cutting his chin and losing consciousness,” Taylor told the legislature. “Inside the hospital, Steven waited to be seen. He waited eight-and-half hours. And finally, late at night, he was sent home - still bloody, still disoriented, and still with fluid in his abdomen.”
Steven's heart-breaking story shows exactly what's happening to patients in dangerously overcrowded hospitals, across Ontario, after years of Liberal cuts and layoffs. Premier Wynne’s hospital funding in this year's budget falls more than $300 million short of what's needed to provide the health care that patients and their families need. The Liberals also froze hospital budgets for four straight years, leading to hundreds of layoffs and deep cuts at Hamilton hospitals.
Steven's wife Debbie, who has mobility problems and uses a wheelchair, had to care for him by herself. “While in the hospital, Debbie had to help take Steven to the toilet. Then, on her own, had to clean him and get him back onto the bed,” Taylor recounted. “When they left the hospital, Debbie had to get Steven out to the car all alone - Remember, this is a woman who needs to be in a wheelchair herself. Debbie and Steven deserve so much better.”
“Why doesn't this premier see the damage she's done to patient care?” asked Taylor. “When will the premier admit that she is failing Steven and Debbie and patients across Ontario?”