Horwath said figures reveal overcrowding at Brampton is progressively getting worse and she directed the blame at the Liberal government for squeezing hospital resources.

For years, The Guardian has reported on overcrowding at the local health facility, which has been overburdened since the day it opened in 2007.

“I don’t think that Kathleen Wynne and the Liberal government understand or get it. Here, in Brampton, it’s really serious.”

Jeffrey, who was a Liberal cabinet minister for years before taking the mayor’s seat in 2014, criticized the formula her former government uses to fund hospitals. She said hospital resources will only get stretched further as the city’s population grows.

She said the formula used to fund hospitals needs to change.

“The funding formula is still not at a place that reflects the true population in our city. It matters because we are always playing catch-up.”

Earlier this year, Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness replaced the demolished Peel Memorial hospital. However, unlike the former hospital, the new urgent care centre has no emergency department nor does it have overnight beds.

“Meanwhile, Brampton Civic Hospital is overcapacity and something needs to be done now to address the high volumes,” Horwath said.

“We have been advocating very strongly at Queen’s Park on behalf of the people of Brampton to try to bring some focus and attention on the desperate need for improvements to the hospital system here.”

Jeffrey suggested a “short-term fix” to the health-care crunch locally is to extend the current hours of operation at Peel Memorial urgent care centre from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily now to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

