Instances of insurers unable to find available hospital beds raises serious questions
Earlier this week, Ontario conservatives grilled Premier Kathleen Wynne over the death of Londoner Stuart Cline, who sustained a head injury while on vacation and spent days in a Mexico hospital waiting for a hospital bed to become available in the province.
Cline was eventually brought to a hospital in St. Catharines, where he died Saturday, reported CBC News.
“This tragedy is a direct result of this government's refusal to properly fund hospitals across the province,” said MPP Vic Fedeli.
During the inquiry over the incident, Wynne said the incident raises “serious questions” about the communication between Cline’s insurance company and the province’s health system. She claimed that as of Feb. 26, there were over 80 beds available throughout the province, including:
- 31 level 2 and 3 ICU beds in Toronto;
- 34 in Hamilton Niagara;
- 16 in the southwest; and
- Seven in Erie.
“The system was working in the sense that the beds were there,” Wynne said.
NDP MPP Teresa Armstrong brought up the case of Larry Dann, a Londoner who went through a similar experience as Cline in February. Dann was stranded in a Miami hospital for eight days in February because his insurance company could not find him a bed in Ontario; he recovered enough to fly home on Feb. 26
“They tried very hard to find him a bed to come home, even organizing an air ambulance to get him back to Ontario,” Armstrong said. “Does the premier think that Larry's insurance company was lying to him?”
Declining to comment on Dann’s situation, Wynne said it would be “of great concern” if there had been no beds available. But if there had been available beds, Wynne said it’s likely also due to a disconnect between Dann’s insurer and the Ontario health system.
After Wynne’s testimony in the legislature, Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director Natalie Mehra weighed in, saying “I'm not buying that at all.”
Speaking to CBC News, Mehra said virtually every large Ontario hospital that is equipped to deal with complex illnesses is operating at 100% capacity or higher. “Ontario has cut more hospital beds than any other province in Canada,” she said.
