MPP Vic Fedeli announces 26 new beds for North Bay hospital

The Progressive Conservatives say they're working to end hallway medicine by spending $90 million across the province, including $2.04 million in North Bay.

Across Ontario, the money will be immediately used to create more than 640 hospital beds and continue funding beds and spaces already operating in hospital, according to a news release.

The province says hospitals across Ontario will benefit, although a specific list of funding for each hospital has not been released.

Spokespeople with hospitals in Sudbury, Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie told CBC Sudbury they have not received specific details.

However on Twitter, finance minister and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli released more details about the North Bay Regional Health Centre.

He says that hospital is receiving $2.04 million to create 26 new beds. Fedeli adds it will "help ease alternative level of care pressures related to the closure of the 66-beds at Lady Isabelle Long Term Care Facility in Trout Creek."

Fedeli says a 14-bed transitional care unit will be opened at the hospital, which will include 10 beds for "at risk older adults" and four "short-term stay beds in partnership with the Alzheimer's Society of North Bay."

He adds an additional 12 spaces will also be created in a "specialized day program with the Alzheimer's Society of North Bay.

In addition to the 640 beds, the province says it also plans to build 6,000 new long-term care beds across Ontario. It adds the new beds "represent the first wave of more than 15,000 new long-term care beds that the government has committed to build over the next five years."

"One patient treated in a hallway is one patient too many," Ontario premier Doug Ford said.

"It's unacceptable that people are still waiting hours before seeing a doctor or are forced to lie on stretchers in hospital hallways when they do finally get care."

The province adds some facilities "will receive additional funding immediately to address current capacity pressures and the remaining will receive funding in the fall/winter for flu season."