Province provides nearly $16M to boost bed capacity at Oakville, Milton hospitals

Halton Healthcare Services is receiving a $15,782,600 financial boost from the provincial government to enhance hospital bed capacity in Oakville and Milton.

The funding is part of an overall investment this year and next of up to $1.17 billion to support bedded capacity at hospitals across Ontario. An additional 3,500 beds have been added since 2021-22 by the provincial government.

It’s the first step in converting a portion of previously one-time funded beds into permanent base funding, further improving the ability to address acute and post-acute care capacity needs across the hospital sector.

The near $16M that Halton Healthcare Services is receiving will go to support 54 beds.

“This infusion of net new base funding is a demonstration of the government’s ongoing commitment to Halton Healthcare and the communities we serve,” says Halton Healthcare President and CEO, Melissa Farrell. “The much-needed funds will allow us to continue our support of the health system as a whole, by maintaining 40 surge beds in Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. We’ll also be able to continue the crucial services of two youth mental health inpatient beds dedicated to eating disorders in Oakville and further sustain 12 acute care beds in Milton District Hospital.

“Ultimately, these funds go a long way to help Halton Healthcare address operational needs and support our team of dedicated health care professionals.”

Effie Triantafilopoulos, MPP for Oakville North-Burlington, says the recent funding highlights the Ontario government’s commitment to enhancing healthcare.

“Through this critical investment, Halton will see its healthcare infrastructure strengthened, ensuring that individuals, families and seniors will have access to world-class medical services right here in their own backyard,” she said. “Our government will continue to invest in our province’s hospitals and connect Ontarians to convenient care closer to home.”

The funding, says Oakville MPP Stephen Crawford, also comes at a time when the province has launched the largest medical school expansion in 15 years and the ground has been broken on 50 new and redeveloped hospitals over the next 10 years.

“It is wonderful to see how our government continues to fulfill our commitment to invest in our hospitals so that they may continue to provide the best care when and where you and your family need it,” said Crawford. “By expanding bed capacity, Halton Healthcare Services will be able to address care capacity demands and ensure that they provide safe, quality care to their patients, families and communities.”