The Government of Canada will deploy two federal Mobile Health Units (MHU) to Ontario, in response to a provincial request for assistance.
“As we continue to battle COVID-19, we are providing these Mobile Health Units in Ontario to relieve pressure on health care workers and help patients,” said Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Health. “We will continue to be there to support provinces and territories to help Canadians and communities across the country get through this difficult time.”
The MHUs will relieve pressure on Ontario’s strained hospital capacity due to the prevalence of COVID-19 in the province. MHUs are just one of the services offered under the COVID-19 Federal Rapid Surge Capacity – a means for provinces and territories to access equipment and resources, when they need it most.
The two MHUs are scheduled to be deployed to the Greater Toronto Area as rapidly as possible. These units will be available to Ontario until May 1, 2021, depending on COVID-19 case load and ICU capacity in the province.
The MHUs will provide additional hospital beds and facilitate the transfer of non-critical care patients out of critical care to ensure those specialized resources are available for those who need it most.
“Our government is using every tool at our disposal to support our hospitals as they respond to COVID-19,” Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said. “As Ontario continues to add more hospital beds and build capacity in our health care system, these new mobile health units will further help us alleviate the strain on our hospitals and intensive care units. We will continue to work with the federal government and our health care partners to support our hospitals and care for patients affected by this deadly virus.”
Each MHU has the capacity to include 100 hospital beds. The units will be staffed by the province.
Photo: “As we continue to battle COVID-19, we are providing these Mobile Health Units in Ontario to relieve pressure on health care workers and help patients,” said Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Health.
