Ontario announced an additional $330 million each year in pediatric health services to connect children and youth to more convenient and high-quality care close to home at hospitals, clinics and community-based health care facilities across the province.
“This new funding will provide our frontline health care partners with the tools they need to immediately provide more children with the care they need close to home,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We’re tackling wait times, adding new beds, and building up our health care workforce to ensure everyone in Ontario, including and especially our children and youth, have access to the care they need, when and where they need it.”
This funding increase is also expected to allow pediatric hospitals to make significant increases to staffing to ensure they have the people and resources needed to prevent backlogs and improve access to care.
The investment includes up to $45 million from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for children’s rehabilitation services, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language services. The additional funding will also help providers hire and retain more staff to reduce wait times to give children and families more timely access to clinical assessments, early intervention and school-based rehabilitation for children with special needs.
Recently, the province expanded One Stop Talk, a virtual walk-in mental health counselling service for children, youth and families. In addition, 22 SmartStart Hubs are already operating across the province. SmartStart Hubs provide improved access to front-line rehabilitation services for children and youth, including speech and language pathology services, occupational therapy and physical therapy.
