Four weeks into the eight-week campaign, thousands of people have signed the Town’s call-to-action letter or shared a personal story about why a new hospital matters to them.

Today marks the halfway point of the eight-week community advocacy campaign launched on Feb. 7, focused on the urgent need for a new hospital in Durham Region.

Over the first four weeks, we have seen a phenomenal response from the community with thousands of people signing the call-to-action letter or sharing a personal story about why a new hospital matters to them.

I am incredibly grateful to Durham residents for this support, and deeply concerned by some of the stories we’re hearing.

“My wife, 81…fell face first on the cement floor. We waited five hours for someone to see her, all that time bleeding,” one resident shared, while another said “we had a family member with a broken neck and broken ribs lay in emergency for five days before getting a room at Ajax.”

We hear you, Durham.

On Feb. 15, Premier Doug Ford commented during an interview on CKDO Radio that “there’s going to be a Whitby hospital.”

Thank you, Premier Ford, for this confirmation. Now, we need action.

A hospital in Whitby is not guaranteed until the Province completes the land disposition process and approves a $3 million planning grant for Lakeridge Health.

The Town of Whitby is continuing to invest in a new hospital by awarding Lakeridge Health Foundation with a $25,000 grant from the Mayor’s Community Development Fund.

This is in addition to $25,000 from the fund awarded last year for a total investment of $50,000.

The federal government has also stepped up with the recent announcement of a $3.1 billion health accord with the Province.

We will be watching the upcoming 2024 Provincial Budget closely.

There are four weeks left in our community advocacy campaign. I encourage all Durham residents to help us keep the momentum going by visiting whitby.ca/NewHospital to sign the call-to-action letter or share a personal story.

For media inquiries, contact:

Jillian Follert
Public Affairs Coordinator, Office of the Mayor, Town of Whitby
Phone: 289.387.9101
Email: follertj@whitby.ca

Erin Mikaluk
Manager, Communications and Creative Services, Town of Whitby
Phone: 289.314.6913
Email: mikaluke@whitby.ca

Background Information

Advocating to Bring Care Closer to Home Through a New Hospital in Durham

The Province of Ontario first recommended a new acute care hospital for Durham Region in 2015, recognizing the significant, rapid, and continued growth expected in the area.

The Current Status of the New Hospital for Durham

• Two years ago, in January 2022 – following a transparent, two-stage site selection process – Lakeridge Health announced lands in Whitby as the preferred site for a proposed new hospital for Durham Region. 
• Since then, there has been zero action from the Ontario government on the $3 million Planning Grant and land commitment required to move this project forward.
• The Town of Whitby is advocating for provincial support in the process to bring a new hospital to this site in Whitby to provide critical health care closer to home for all Durham residents.

The Site

• The preferred site selected by Lakeridge Health for the new hospital is located south of Highway 407, west of Highway 412, east of Lake Ridge Road and north of Highway 7/Winchester Road located in Whitby.
• The land is currently owned by the Ministry of Transportation. 
• The Whitby site was chosen because it is centrally located in the heart of Durham, less than 1 kilometre from three 400-series on ramps and three 400-series off ramps – critically important for what will be the only trauma centre between Toronto and Kingston.

The Site Selection Process

• Lakeridge Health began their site selection process for the new hospital in 2021.
• This process was overseen by a fairness advisor and involved an independent, non-partisan expert panel with no connections to the region to ensure objectivity.
• Lakeridge Health submitted a $3M Planning Grant request to the Ministry of Health in Spring 2022 – this grant is a critical next step to move the project forward. Two provincial budgets have now been tabled without funding for this grant.
• The Ministry of Transportation and the Town of Whitby have been working on the land disposition process since 2021. The allocation of this land aligns with the Ministry mandate letters.

Why It Matters

• The current Lakeridge Health hospital system can’t keep up with current demand and this will only increase as the community grows.
• Durham is one of the fastest growing region in Canada, with a population expected to be over one million people in less than 20 years. Almost one third of the population is expected to be seniors aged 65 and older who will require more, and increasingly complex, care.
• By 2041, Lakeridge Health will need 1,793 beds. That’s more than double the current count.
• The Province of Ontario requires every municipality to build a minimum number of homes to support population growth. The Town of Whitby has committed to partnering with the Province to support the construction of 18,000 new homes in Whitby by 2031. More healthcare infrastructure is needed to support this growth.
• There is a gap in critical care in areas of high growth. The map below shows the location of the Whitby site depicted with the green dot. The red crosses depict the location of existing acute care hospitals in and near Durham. The red circles represent a 15-minute travel time to each hospital. The light orange shaded areas show approved areas of growth within the Durham Official Plan.