Emergency room closures drop in Ontario as critics urge government to make data public

The number of emergency room closures in Ontario is dropping, according to new data from the Ford government , as critics demand more transparency around how nursing and physician shortages are impacting the north of the province.

Since a flare-up in emergency room closures in July 2022, Ontario Health has required hospitals across the province to notify it if they are forced to shutter any major department to the public.

The policy was instituted as criticism mounted about the closures, which, according to the auditor general, had been “very rare” before 2020 and ballooned in the summer of 2022.

Now, new data shared with Global News by the Ministry of Health shows the number of closures at hospitals appears to be dropping — although more than 50 instances were recorded last year.

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