The City of Brampton recently declared a health-care emergency in the face of chronic provincial underfunding and an escalating “hallway medicine” crisis, but how does recent health-care spending compare in neighbouring communities?

Health-care advocacy group Concerned Ontario Doctors (COD) gave a presentation to Brampton city council on Jan. 22, outlining recent health-care investments by the provincial government in Mississauga and Etobicoke compared to Brampton — showing some striking disparities.

In terms of overall annual funding, Brampton receives the lowest per capita funding in Ontario at $937 per person, compared to the provincial average of approximately $2,000 per year. The city is home to one of the busiest emergency departments in the country and existing facilities are operating far above capacity.

According to COD, Brampton has received just $500,000 in new funding for early planning of the second phase of Peel Memorial Hospital, 168 new long-term care beds and funding to upgrade 280 existing long-term care beds since 2018.

The current provincial government and Premier Doug Ford took office in June 2018.

Brampton — with a population of approximately 650,000 residents — has received no additional mental health beds, no funding for hospital and emergency room renovations or expansion, no additional funding for home and community care and zero dollars for community hospice beds.

Over that same period, COD says neighbouring Mississauga has seen the completion of the $118-million third phase of Credit Valley Hospital (CVH), funding for seven mental health beds at CVH, $2,580,933 for 1.8 million more hours of home and community care and funding for 10 community hospice beds. In July 2019, the province announced 457 new long-term care beds and 275 upgraded long-term care beds in that city.

Etobicoke, Ford’s home riding, with a population of roughly 365,000 received $300 million in June 2019. More recently, the province ponied up $5 million for early planning to expand Etobicoke's St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Ontario's government also provided the William Osler Health System — which oversees hospitals in both Brampton and Etobicoke — with a $1.5-million health infrastructure renewal fund, which COD president Dr. Kulvinder Gill said all went to Etobicoke.

“This has been cited by local Brampton PC MPPs as having come to Brampton, however, that is incorrect. Brampton actually saw zero dollars of that. All of it went to the Etobicoke site,” she said.