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Ontario hospitalizations decline 28% in 14 years

Ontario has less hospital capacity than any other province on one key measure. And it is losing hospital capacity faster than any other province.
1996 Population
1995-6 Hospitalizations
Hospitalizations per thousand
2010 Population
2009/10 Hospitalizations
Hospitalizations per thousand
Decline since 1996
Canada
29,569,874
3,237,070
109.5
34,073,957
2,785,400
81.7
25.3%
NFLD.
560,576
69,426
123.8
511,154
50,660
99.1
20.0%
PEI
135,543
18,594
137.2
143,128
14,572
101.8
25.8%
N.S.
930,826
114,953
123.5
944,457
83,777
88.7
28.2%
N.B.
752,062
114,473
152.2
752,573
83,777
111.3
26.9%
Quebec
7,243,693
749,902
103.5
7,895,081
635,699
80.5
22.2%
Ontario
11,065,044
1,149,929
103.9
13,206,846
987,757
74.8
28.0%
Manitoba
1,132,782
139,871
123.5
1,232,226
119,021
96.6
21.8%
Saskatchewan
1,018,106
157,952
155.1
1,042,096
122,821
117.9
24.0%
Alberta
2,770,298
298,441
107.7
3,713,008
311,572
83.9
22.1%
B.C.
3,862,540
413,014
106.9
4,522,675
367,689
81.3
24.0%
Yukon
31,272
2,768
88.5
34,330
2,868
83.5
5.6%
NWT
41,591
5,966
143.4
43,696
4,908
112.3
21.7%
Nunavut
25,543
1,781
69.7
32,686
1,735
53.1
23.9%
Outside of Ontario
18,504,830
2,087,141
112.8
20,867,111
1,797,643
86.1
23.6%







Sources: CIHI and Stats Canada

Per capita hospitalizations in Ontario were already lower than any other province except Quebec in 1995-6.  Hospitalizations in Ontario declined a further 28% in the following fourteen years (ending 2009/10).  That decline was more than any other province and hospitalizations in Ontario are now much less than any other province. Quebec (which has the next lowest rate) now has 7.6% more hospitalizations per capita than Ontario.  Hospitalizations in the rest of Canada are now 15% higher than in Ontario.

As discussed in several posts last year, Canada is an outlier as far as hospital capacity is concerned.  Canada has a very low number of hospital beds compared to other countries and bed occupancy is higher than other countries. Accordingly, it also has a very low level of hospitalizations.

Ontario has even fewer beds than the rest of Canada and bed occupancy is at astounding levels.  Even with extremely high bed occupancy (and the stretching of resources which that implies), the capacity of Ontario to hospitalize patients is much less even than the rest of Canada.

Despite our outlier status, the Ontario government plans to reduce hospital capacity further. 

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