Aside from the predictable (but fun) response from Deb Matthews to yesterday's Ontario Health Coalition report outlining cuts in Ontario hospitals ("It is OK" to close hospital beds, she opined), we did get a snippet or two of information from the government. The Star reports the Health Minister's office also made these claims: 70 per cent of hospitals have seen increases -- 63 hospitals. This is inaccurate in some way. There are about 159 hospital corporations in Ontario (there's many more hospital facilities ). So if 63 is accurate, that would be 39% of hospital corporations got an increase. If it is 70%, that would be about 111 hospital corporations. So somebody got the math wrong. The largest decrease that a hospital has received is 1.2 per cent and the largest increase is 2.8 per cent. About 81 per cent of hospitals have seen no more than a 1 per cent swing, up or down. So, if this is true, the large majority of hospitals got either a very
Notes from Leftwords -- Doug Allan