Deal reached to save Ontario’s virtual ERs

Ontario has granted a threemonth funding extension for doctors to provide care in virtual emergency departments, but the last-minute deal came too late for some hospitals to reverse plans to close online ERs.

The provincial funding had been set to run out after Friday, and several hospitals said that meant they had to shut their virtual emergency rooms.

The deal reached Wednesday between the province and the Ontario Medical Association extends funding until June 30, said Health Minister Sylvia Jones.

“We will continue to work with the OMA to ensure that care is available to Ontarians where and when they need it,” Jones said.

The government will “assess what is needed across the health-care system” for a longterm plan on virtual ERs, she said.

About a dozen hospitals across the province launched virtual ERs during the pandemic in an effort to divert patients from jammed waiting rooms.

The Unity Health Toronto hospital network, which partnered with two other hospital systems on a virtual ER, said the last-minute funding extension doesn’t change its planned wind-down of the online service.

Spokesperson Jennifer Stranges said the virtual department was “key in ensuring access and continuity of health services” during the pandemic.

“We’re now looking at how as an organization we use virtual care to provide access to health services to our patients and community,” she said.

Michael Garron Hospital also said it would still be ending its “innovative” virtual ER program on Friday.

Dr. Kyle Vojdani, the medical director of the hospital’s emergency department, said their virtual ER was launched in March 2021 in an effort to address the trend of patients avoiding the hospital due to COVID-19.

The program saw more than 4,500 patients visit virtually over the past two years, he said. Nearly 75 per cent of those patients did not need to go to the physical emergency department.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre will continue its partnership in the joint program until the end of June, it said.

The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto also said its virtual ER program will continue.