Ontario Providing More Funding for On-Call Care at Peterborough Regional HealthCentre

$3,471,232 investment to provide more on-call funding to doctors to care for patients when they need it

Today, Dave Smith, Member of Provincial Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha, announced
the Ontario government is investing $3,471,232 Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) to support more on-call funding for doctors working after hours. This funding will help patients to continue to get the care they need in-hospital, right when and where they need it.


“This funding increase will help PRHC by increasing the number of Physicians available for patients when the hospital needs that extra support.” said Dave Smith, MPP for Peterborough-Kawartha. “This is just one more step the province is taking to ensure the right level of care is available when it is needed and further help reduce wait times for the people of the greater Peterborough area” added MPP Smith.


This funding follows through on previous agreements between the Ontario Medical Association and Ontario Ministry of Health to increase dedicated funding for physicians on-call. This funding will support on-call coverage at nearly 100 acute-care hospitals in Ontario.


This funding will support after-hours care at PRHC and allow for more stable after-hours coverage. This
investment recognizes the efforts of health care workers, especially those who provide on-call services in addition to their regular working hours whenever hospitals need it.


“On behalf of PRHC, I want to thank MPP Smith, Ontario Health and the Ministry of Health for today’s exciting announcement,” said Dr. Lynn Mikula, President & CEO, Peterborough Regional Health Centre. “This funding for on-call support will have benefits for both our physicians and our patients, and help to ensure that the people of our community and region have better access to the care they need, when they need it.”


“Our government is ensuring hospitals have the funds needed so that their doctors can deliver high-quality care at any time of the day or night” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “For patients visiting hospitals across Ontario, this funding means they’ll receive the care they need when it is needed.”


For health care to help, it needs to happen in a timely manner. With Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is making it easier for people and families to get the care they need faster, when and where they need it.

Quick Facts

  • The province invests over $259 million in funding to support on-call coverage in acute-care hospitals across Ontario.
  • This funding includes a $12.5 million investment from the 2021 Physician Services Agreement with the Ontario Medical Association which will also commits to a fundamental re-design of the Hospital On-Call Coverage program into a burden-based funding model. This ensures equitable distribution of funding
  • across physicians providing on-call services.
  • Over the last 3 years, the province has added more than 3,500 hospital beds across the province. Through 50 new major hospital development projects, Ontario will add another 3,000 new hospital beds over the next 10 years.