Ontario is expanding a program aimed at helping rural and northern hospitals avoid temporary emergency room closures for another six months.

The province established what is now known as the temporary Locum program during the pandemic, and it has been renewed several times, often at the last minute.

It was set to expire again at the end of this month, and the Ministry of Health has now informed eligible hospitals that it will be effective until September 30.

Many of the province's most isolated hospitals rely on doctors from urban areas who fill shifts on what is essentially a locum basis, and the temporary work program pays them a bonus as an incentive.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the government is working to find a permanent solution with the Ontario Medical Association.

Frances Gillinas, the health critic for the New Democratic Party, said the government needs to come up with a permanent solution now, rather than continually renewing the program on a temporary last-minute basis.