OTTAWA — One-quarter of Ontario hospitals don't have a plan for dealing with an influenza pandemic, says a survey in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Among smaller and rural hospitals, only about 60% had such a plan when the data were collected, a team led by Dr. Dick Zoutman, an infection control expert at Kingston General Hospital, discovered.

The study is based on data collected in 2007, well before the Spring, 2009 outbreak of H1N1 in Canada.

Zoutman said the figures are the most recent and are "highly relevant.

"They give us a very good idea as to the extent of some of the larger gaps in the level of preparedness. I have no reason to believe some of the gaps have been completely closed."

The federal and Ontario governments provide overall guidance on pandemic planning in Canada, but hospitals are supposed to have specific plans of their own. These plans cover issues such as surveillance, staffing and stockpiles of medical and protective equipment.

Seventy percent of those questioned thought pandemic planning in their own hospital wasn't adequately funded, and about 80% didn't think their hospital's plan was complete.

Andrew Morrison, a spokesman for Ontario's said the situation in hospitals has likely improved since 2007.

"We feel we have made some progress," he said.

For instance, Ontario offered a pandemic toolkit for smaller hospitals to help in their planning. It also set up the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion and has taken other measures.

Christina.spencer@sunmedia.ca