$125 million investment will connect more people to publicly funded care faster
The Ontario government is protecting the province’s health-care system by making it faster and easier for people to connect to publicly funded surgeries and procedures. The province is investing $125 million to add up to 20,000 orthopedic surgeries at community surgical centres across the province over two years. A call for applications opens today with new licences anticipated to be issued starting in early 2026.
“While Ontario has the shortest surgical wait times of any province in Canada, we’re working to deliver even more connected and convenient care for people, when and where they need it,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “That’s why our government is taking bold action to protect Ontario and boost access to publicly funded surgeries and diagnostic imaging so families can conveniently access the care they need sooner and closer to home.”
This expansion in services will reduce wait times for orthopedic surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, ensuring that 90 per cent of Ontario patients receive care within clinically recommended timeframes.
This announcement builds on last week’s $155 million investment to add 57 community surgical and diagnostic centres to connect over 1.2 million people to MRI and CT scans and GI endoscopy services across the province and a $235 million investment to support over 130 new and expanded primary care teams that will connect 300,000 people to care this year.
As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding the number of community surgical and diagnostic centres that provide diagnostic services, surgeries and procedures, connecting more people to the high-quality care they need, when and where they need it.
Quick Facts
- For over 30 years, community surgical and diagnostic centres have been providing publicly funded diagnostic imaging, surgeries and procedures in the community.
- There are currently over 900 community surgical and diagnostic centres throughout Ontario; the majority provide diagnostic imaging services.
- New community surgical and diagnostic centres build on the progress the Ontario government has made since the launch of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care including:
- Achieving the shortest surgical wait times for key procedures of any province in Canada in 2024, with over 83 per cent of people receiving their procedure within clinically recommended target times.
- Funding up to 65,568 MRI and 31,220 CT operating hours in existing community surgical and diagnostic centres over the past year.
- Adding 50 new MRI machines in 43 hospitals across the province to increase MRI capacity and services.
- Adding four new licensed cataract centres to provide more publicly funded cataract and other eye surgeries. In the past year, the government has funded 40,000 eye surgery procedures at community surgical and diagnostic centres.
- Eliminating the backlog of cervical cancer screening tests at the end of August 2023. Testing turnaround times returned to the pre-pandemic standard of 10 to 14 days.
- All community surgical and diagnostic centres are now also under the oversight of Accreditation Canada’s new quality assurance program which provides the same strong requirements as public hospitals to improve quality standards at facilities and ensure consistent patient safety and quality care.
- No centre can refuse an insured service to a patient who chooses not to purchase uninsured upgrades and no patient can pay to receive insured services faster than anyone else.
- The call for applications is open for 8 weeks starting July 2, 2025 and will close at 11:59 p.m. on August 27, 2025.
- Questions about the call for applications process, the application guidelines, and/or the application form must be emailed to ICHSC.Applications@ontario.ca by July 16, 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) so that answers can be posted on the ministry’s website to assist all applicants in completing their application.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
