Good afternoon.
Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you for this opportunity. I'm speaking to you today from my perspective as a tertiary hospital CEO, an orthopaedic surgeon and a professor at Queen's University.
Like our peer hospitals, Kingston Health Sciences Centre has many complex and integrated roles. KHSC is both a community hospital and a large regional academic centre providing specialized tertiary services to urban, rural and remote communities across a wide area of eastern and northern Ontario. During the pandemic, we doubled our ICU capacity and stepped up to be a critical care partner in the life-saving “team Ontario” critical care network. We accepted approximately 150 critically ill patients from the GTA, northern indigenous communities and Saskatchewan.
In addition, with Queen's University and St. Lawrence College, we train large numbers of physicians, nurses, therapists and technologists. We have developed innovative partnerships, like our federally and provincially funded Weeneebayko Area Health Authority, Queen's and KHSC program that provides access to the full range of health care services and training of frontline workers for the James Bay region. Like other tertiary hospitals, we have a research institute that partners in health care research with Queen's and with other universities across Canada and globally. All KHSC attending physicians have a Queen's faculty appointment.
Beyond our direct roles in health care delivery, leadership and innovation, hospitals have a substantial economic impact. We are major employers in our communities. We support a host of affiliated supply chain, pharmaceutical and medical device industries, and we drive research and development.
Previous speakers at this committee have illustrated how the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated long-standing health care human resource deficits and burnout. Canada is not alone in this crisis. The U.S.A., for example, is experiencing high levels of burnout, with projected deficits of 122,000 physicians and 1.2 million nurses. Other countries will be aggressively competing for our top clinical and research talent. We need to stop training regulated health care workers for export, and ensure that this precious resource is enabled and incented to live and work in Canada.
Those of us working at the front line in hospitals have witnessed two decades of disinvestment, with continuing pressure to reduce expenses, reduce beds and divert scarce resources to community and independent health facilities. As health human resources consume 70% of hospital budgets, inevitably funding cuts lead to staffing reductions.
The ongoing pandemic has highlighted the critical role that hospitals play in health system performance and delivering value for money. During the pandemic, hospitals have been the backbone of our health care system. We rescued long-term care homes, anchored IPAC hubs, provided PPE to community partners, created assessment and vaccine clinics, created and adopted digital and virtual platforms, developed and implemented extender roles to mitigate HHR shortages, and pivoted to build new critical care and in-patient capacity. Any future interventions to address HHR challenges and pandemic recovery must acknowledge, respect and support the contributions that hospitals make.
Mr. Chair, at our Kingston General Hospital site, some of our staff still work in the same building that held the very first meeting of the Parliament of Canada in 1841. For us to attract and retain the best and brightest, we must address the mounting infrastructure deficits and modernize our aging facilities and equipment. To mitigate burnout, health care workers must be able to see purpose and achieve fulfillment in their roles while having adequate workspace and work-life balance.
These objectives require modern hospitals with modern equipment. The Government of Ontario is taking steps to invest in hospitals and long-term care facilities, but much, much more will be needed to ensure safe and high-quality care. A human resource and infrastructure challenge of this magnitude requires strategic commitment and action by the federal government.
Thank you.