One hospital in Ontario is in such bad shape it has a $287-million to-do list, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says.

That figure came in a list the New Democrats got under a freedom-of-information request from the health ministry detailing $3.2 billion “deferred maintenance” at 148 hospitals across the province.

Names of the hospitals were blacked out.

“The government refuses to tell us which hospitals are in the worst shape,” Horwath said Monday, referring to the list.

“In fact, the government said that if they revealed the names of the hospitals, contractors could lose confidence that they would get paid.”

Health Minister Eric Hoskins said facilities with the highest need are aging “multi-site” hospitals that need to be replaced and defended his ministry’s decision not to release names “for good reason.”

“It would give contractors an unfair advantage in advance of their bid what the ministry or the hospital had estimated the cost of those repairs, renovations and improvements to be,” he told reporters.

Even a small hospital can cost $50 million to rebuild while major hospitals such as the new Humber River facility can top out at $3 billion or more, Hoskins added.

The government has earmarked $100 million a year for maintenance and repairs, which can include new air conditioning systems, boilers and other equipment.

It’s also planning to spend $12 billion over the next 10 years to build new hospitals, said Hoskins, who also came under fire from Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown.

“We have hospitals that are literally months old. We have hospitals that are decades old. We continue to invest in both areas.”

Horwath said the $3.2 billion in deferred maintenance is substantially higher than the $2.7 billion figure auditor general Bonnie Lysyk raised in a recent annual report.

“Failing to do urgent repairs will only make it worse,” cautioned the NDP leader, who has criticized the government for tight hospital budgets that have led to the layoffs of 1,440 nurses since January 2015.

On the list of 148 hospitals obtained by the New Democrats, only six had no deferred maintenance needs. The others ranged from just $16,359 while most were between $1 million and $287 million.

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Eight hospitals had needs above $100 million.

Heavy demands on the health-care system have led to many hospitals operating at over 100 per cent capacity, Horwath revealed two weeks ago after another freedom of information request, putting an official number on stories of overcrowding about patients on stretchers in emergency rooms waiting for beds.

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