Ontario – As of the end of 2022, Ontario has over 50 approved hospital development projects that will build more than 3,000 new hospital beds in communities across the province over the next 10 years. Ontario’s investments over the next decade will lead to over $48 billion in health infrastructure across the province.
In 2020, Ontario released a strategy to build a world-class mental health and addictions system – Roadmap to Wellness: A Plan to Build Ontario’s Mental Health and Addictions System. Supported by a commitment to invest $3.8 billion over 10 years, Roadmap is adding capacity to meet demand, filling gaps in the care continuum, and creating a provincial infrastructure for a mental health and addictions continuum of care that connects primary, community, and acute care to better meet the needs of people with mental health and addictions issues.
In Budget 2023, Ontario is building on its historic $3.8 billion investment by providing an additional $425 million over three years. This investment will provide community-based mental health and addictions service providers funded by the Ministry of Health with a five per cent increase in base funding. Since 2019-20, the government has flowed $525 million in new base funding for mental health and addictions services and supports. This funding is supporting a range of services, including child and youth mental health, community-based addictions services, supportive housing, mental health and justice, and Indigenous mental health and addictions.
“Waypoint thanks Minister Jones and the Government of Ontario for this support to address the growing need for mental health and addictions care in our region. The investment in this 20-bed acute mental health unit at Waypoint is an investment in the system and will enable us as a regional centre to support patients and partners throughout Simcoe Muskoka and the surrounding area with the specialized and expert care they deserve. The unit includes the first psychiatric ICU beds in our region for individuals with increased risk due to severe mental illness, an important milestone toward delivering safer care and relieving pressures on the emergency departments of our eight partner hospitals throughout the region. We are grateful for the support we have received from elected officials and partners across the region, which speaks to our shared commitment to better care for individuals with increasingly complex mental health needs.” – Dr Nadiya Sunderji, President and CEO, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care