Continued pressure on the provincial government to address doctor shortages in northwestern Ontario.
Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa says the hospital in Sioux Lookout narrowly avoided shutting down its emergency room.
This comes at the same time the Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital in Red Lake had to close its emergency department for 24 hours last weekend.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says enrolment in medical schools is being increased.
However, Mamakwa says more immediate solutions are needed, noting overworked and burnt out physicians across the north are trying to keep hospitals’ doors open to care for their patients.
He says one doctor in Sioux Lookout worked ten 24-hour shifts in a month to fill vacancies when they are only supposed to work a maximum of four.
