TORONTO — As part of its plan to build a stronger, more resilient health care system that is better prepared to respond to crisis, the Ontario government is investing $17.1 million to expand health care services at University Health Network (UHN). This investment includes up to $5 million to plan for Canada’s first-ever hospital-based proton beam therapy facility, which will provide innovative lifesaving cancer treatment to patients.
“Our government is building a stronger, more resilient health care system that ensures all Ontarians have access to the high-quality care they need and deserve,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By investing in UHN’s new proton beam therapy facility, we are bringing innovative new technology to Ontario, making it easier and more convenient for patients to receive treatment close to home.”
Proton beam therapy is an advanced form of cancer treatment that delivers radiation therapy to targeted tumour cells, reducing radiation to surrounding healthy tissues. Patients who receive this innovative treatment may have fewer long-term side effects, especially children with brain tumours and adults with certain types of cancer.
Currently, Canada does not have a hospital-based proton beam therapy facility, meaning that patients who require proton beam therapy treatment must travel to the United States to receive care. UHN’s new proton beam therapy facility will bring this lifesaving treatment to Canada so that patients can receive high-quality care when they need it provided by world-class health care professionals closer to home.
The proton beam therapy facility would include up to five treatment suites to support approximately 1,500 paediatric and adult patients annually. Ontario is working with the Proton Therapy Planning Group, a collaboration between Ontario Health–Cancer Care Ontario, the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario, The Hospital for Sick Children and the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre – University Health Network on further planning to help address the health care needs of patients and families.
In addition, to further support high-quality care and build a stronger health care system, up to $12.1 million will be used to support UHN’s Hillcrest Reactivation Centre. The centre operates 75 transitional care beds to provide care to patients who are waiting to move from a hospital to home, community or long-term care. This funding will support key renovations and improve existing infrastructure to ensure patients can continue to receive high-quality care in a comfortable environment.
#ICYMI: Last week, I was in @ottawacity to announce $29M for the @OttawaHospital‘s new Civic Campus.
A lot of people have talked about this project, but we’re the ones that will get it done. #BuildingOntario #HealthCare pic.twitter.com/IGj1pILyuJ
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) March 31, 2022
Quick Facts
- UHN encompasses the Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the Michener Institute of Education. The Radiation Medicine Program at Princess Margaret is the largest of its kind in Canada, treating over 8,000 patients every year.
- Radiation oncologists determine whether proton beam therapy is appropriate for a patient on a case-by-case basis. Current eligibility for out-of-country proton beam therapy include pediatric oncology patients and adult patients with skull base malignancies, sarcoma, head and neck cancer, and cancer patients requiring re-treatment.
- To support high-quality care in the Greater Toronto Area, the government is increasing UHN’s operating funding for the third straight year. Starting in 2021-22, UHN will receive over $24.8 million in additional operating funding, representing an increase of 2.3 per cent to the operating funding the hospital received in 2020-21.
- As part of the government’s over $1.2 billion investment to help hospitals recover from financial pressures created and worsened by COVID-19, UHN received over $20.59 million for 2020-21 lost revenue in order to provide financial stability and support continued high-quality patient care, and $24.1 million to help cover historic working funds deficits.
- As part of the government’s $760 million commitment in the 2021 Budget to support an additional 3,100 hospital beds during the COVID-19 pandemic, UHN received funding for up to 100 acute care beds, and up to 12 critical care beds.
- To support growing demands on the health care system, Ontario’s investments over the next 10 years will lead to $30 billion in health infrastructure across the province. These investments will increase capacity in hospitals, build new health care facilities and renew existing hospitals and community health centres.
Quotes
“This significant and welcome investment by the Province of Ontario into UHN’s Hillcrest Reactivation Centre will greatly support patients who require an Alternate Level of Care following an acute illness. This investment will help us improve the way we care for those at the point of transition from a hospital to their community, ensuring that they have a supportive and comfortable setting to prepare to regain their independence. This will also improve the work environment for the dedicated staff who care for those who need their support and expertise.”
– Dr. Kevin Smith
President and CEO, University Health Network
“What this means is we’ll be able to treat Ontario cancer patients with the most current and best technology without them having to go to the U.S. for this important treatment. In recent years, use of proton therapy has been increasing around the world, and Ontario is now committed to planning for an installation in the centre of Toronto. This treatment centre leverages the built-in advantages of our radiation department, with expertise of the radiation oncologists, medical physicists and radiation therapists at UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, as well as the world-class expertise from the paediatric oncologists at SickKids.”
– Dr. Fei-Fei Liu
Chief of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Radiation Medicine Program and Head of UHN’s Department of Radiation Oncology
“We are thrilled we will be able to offer this innovative treatment to SickKids patients through UHN’s proton beam therapy facility. Proton therapy is a particularly effective option for children and youth who have brain tumours or other types of cancer that originate in difficult to treat areas. While significant progress has been made in treating children and youth with brain cancer, this advanced therapy helps to avoid some of the negative consequences of cancer treatment. With proton therapy, clinicians are able to minimize harm to healthy regions of the brain, leading to better brain health outcomes and other quality-of-life benefits following cancer treatment.”
– Dr. Ronald Cohn
President and CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children
“Bringing proton therapy to Ontario will be an important step toward ensuring that all children with cancer in the province will have access to the best available treatment. The Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario partners to achieve the best childhood cancer care system for children, youth, their families and survivors, so we are particularly pleased that the planning has involved stakeholders from across the province to ensure this new technology benefits everyone affected throughout Ontario.”
– Jill Ross
Chief Executive Officer, Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO)
Source Province of Ontario
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