Union targets Ontario hospital funding, cites Quinte Health challenges
Skip to ContentNewsLocal NewsProvincialCanadaWorldSpecial-SectionsSportsLocal SportsBaseballBasketballFootballHockeyJunior HockeyCurlingAuto RacingOther SportsEntertainmentLocal. . .
Skip to ContentNewsLocal NewsProvincialCanadaWorldSpecial-SectionsSportsLocal SportsBaseballBasketballFootballHockeyJunior HockeyCurlingAuto RacingOther SportsEntertainmentLocal EntertainmentMoviesMusicTelevisionBooksGamingCelebritiesLifeTravelFoodHealthComicsPuzzlesAdviceOpinionColumnEditorialLettersAll NewspapersAdvertisingAdvertising With UsAdvertising SolutionsPostmedia Ad ManagerSponsorship RequestsClassifiedsObituariesBusiness AdsJobsLives ToldShoppingDrivingOntario FarmerHealthingPuzzmoDiversionsPuzzlesComicsNewslettersProfileSettingsMy SubscriptionsNewslettersCustomer ServiceFAQNewsSportsEntertainmentLifeOpinionAll NewspapersBusiness AdsJobsShoppingDrivingHealthingPuzzmoNewslettersNewsLocal NewsUnion targets Ontario hospital funding, cites Quinte Health challengesCUPE releases report; union does not represent Quinte Health employeesPublished Aug 14, 2026•4 minute readThe Ontario Council of Hospital Unions' president, Michael Hurley, left, and senior researcher Doug Allan appear at a recent news conference at Queen's Park. The organization, a branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, has issued a new report on hospital finances and more. (Supplied/OCHU-CUPE)Photo by Supplied/OCHU-CUPEHighlighting the struggles of Quinte Health, an Ontario union is continuing a push for more funding for the province’s hospitals. And while Quinte Health has reported recent improvements in staffing and finances, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions reports the local hospital corporation still faces challenges. The council is a branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). It represents 40,000 hospital workers but no Quinte Health members. Recommended VideosOntario Council of Hospital Unions president Michael Hurley and senior researcher Doug Allan were in Belleville on Thursday to advocate for more funding for hospitals and to promote the council’snew reporton the sector. The report cites common problems in the hospital sector, including some reported in the past by Quinte Health. “Hospitals need six per cent annual increases simply to maintain services,” Hurley said in a news release. “The Ford government has cut hospital budgets in real terms, year after year, resulting in a loss of beds and staff in the face of significant utilization pressures from an aging population. ”Your weekday digest of the top stories from our newsrooms in Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston and Belleville. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Eastern Ontario Midday Roundup will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againThe release stated Premier Doug Ford’s government raised hospital funding in this fiscal year by 3. 3 per cent. Since the union does not represent any Quinte Health workers, the corporation does not typically comment on CUPE’s advocacy or research. Reached Thursday, communications and community relations manager Catherine Walker provided a brief statement by email. “Like all Ontario hospitals, Quinte Health publicly reports itsaudited financial statementseach year, which provide our financial position,” Walker wrote. The corporation had a small operating surplus of $3. 5 million in the last fiscal year after deficits in the previous two. Need for fundingCiting data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, CUPE’s release noted Ontario’s funding of hospitals is the lowest of any province. It stated Quinte Health needs $96 million “in order to reduce wait times, add beds and meet the average spending per capita of other provinces. ”The union also claimed Quinte Health needs 296 more full-time staff to match the capacity seen in other provinces, and that the corporation has a deficit of $20. 5 million in working capital – the funds used to cover daily operating expenses, such as payroll and supplies. “The figures cited regarding funding, staffing and capacity are based on CUPE’s own analysis and methodology, so we aren’t able to validate those assumptions and calculations,” wrote Quinte Health’s Walker. She provided no further comment on direct questions seeking details of working-capital issues and Quinte Health’s financial needs, staffing needs, and the cost of any additional staffing required. “Funding cuts are driving the staffing crisis facing Ontario hospitals,” said Hurley. “We’ve seen emergency rooms across the province regularly forced to close, and wait times everywhere are continuing to rise. Patients are suffering. It’s unacceptable. ”There have been no closures this summer of any Quinte Health emergency departments, spokesperson Nicole Corcoran said Friday. Occupancy a concernEnding “hallway healthcare” was a key promise of Ford’s original 2018 election campaign. The union says the problem has instead doubled. In 2018, there was a daily average of fewer than 1,000 hallway patients, and in 2024, there were nearly 2,000, CUPE stated. “Lack of capacity has resulted in alarmingly high bed occupancy rates – regularly over the safe level of 80 per cent, with Belleville sitting at 92 per cent. ”Quinte Health’s current occupancy rate was unavailable at press time. Walker said the corporation’s September board meeting will include an update. President and chief executive officer Stacey Daubsaid in 2024the hospital needed funding for about 50 more beds. “We’re over-capacity at all our hospitals,” vice-president and chief nursing executive Lina Rinalditold The Intelligencerin July. She also said the hospitals had “really stabilized staffing. ”In June 2026, Bay of Quinte MPP Tyler Allsopp said the ruling Progressive Conservative party had, since 2018, increased hospitals’ operating funding by more than 50 per cent. There are about 2,600 people in Quinte Health’s workforce. The number includes about 375 doctors, including locums, who fill gaps in schedules. Doctors are not hospital employees. About 25 more doctors of varying specialties wereneeded as of late June. After the June board meeting, Daub said the past fiscal year had been a “turning point,” with an end to deficits, a full complement of nurses, fewer alternate-level-of-care patients, and improved wait times in the booking of appointments. The corporation no longer employs workers from external nursing agencies, Daub added; CUPE has called for an end to the use of those agencies provincially. Yet the number of inpatient care days had also increased by 33 per cent from the 2019-2020 fiscal year, staff noted. The corporation reportedrecent improvementin wait times in emergency departments, though the waits for some categories of patients exceeded the provincial average. CUPE, meanwhile, is also pushing back against health care privatization. Cataract surgeries in Ontario saw a wait-time increase of 12 per cent after private clinics were introduced, CUPE stated. Hurley said private care increases costs while reducing access for all but the wealthiest patients. The government should commit $5 billion and move to multi-year funding for hospitals and new nurse-to-patient ratios to address capacity and staffing issues, CUPE stated. Quinte Health's emergency wait times explained: ongoing struggle, recent improvementQuinte Health reports positive trends, shorter waits, and budget surplusJoin the ConversationThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more aboutcookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to ourTerms of UseandPrivacy Policy.