Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine Releases Second Report
Report Provides Recommendations on Building a Sustainable Health Care System
TORONTO -The Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine today released its second report, providing advice on how to build a modern, sustainable and integrated health care system and solve the problem of hallway medicine.
“The Council is encouraged by the government’s vision and progress being made to build a connected and sustainable public health care system in Ontario,” said Special Advisor and Chair of the Council Dr. Rueben Devlin. “By speaking with Ontarians from across the province, the Council has heard support and enthusiasm for meaningful change in health care.”
Developed in consultation with more than 1,500 health care providers, patients and caregivers, the Council’s report – A Healthy Ontario: Building a Sustainable Health Care System – provides advice and makes key recommendations focused on:
- Integration – Putting patients at the centre of all interactions within the health care system, making it easier to access and navigate the system while providing better digital access to personal health information.
- Innovation – Improving options for health care delivery with more virtual care options, modernizing the home care sector and providing a more flexible mix of health care and community supports.
- Efficiency and Alignment – Strengthening partnerships between health and social services and providing open and transparent data to improve health outcomes.
- Capacity – Addressing wait times for specialist and community care by maximizing existing assets and skills, making strategic investments in health care, designing financial incentives to promote better health outcomes for patients and populations and championing collaborative and interprofessional leadership.
The Council will provide advice on the development of Ontario Health Teams and the Ontario Health agency, which are key components of the government’s plan to modernize and integrate health care. Future reports from the Council will focus on the progress being made in delivering better health care services and recommendations on long-term planning for the health care system.
“Health care should be organized around each patient’s individual needs,” said Dr. Devlin. “Health providers must work collaboratively, and services should be more readily available and accessible within our communities. These are the changes that matter to Ontarians and this is what the health care system of the future should look like.”
Ontarians can provide feedback on this report by visiting the following website or email address:
Additional Resources
- Read the Premier’s Council second report: A Healthy Ontario: Building a Sustainable Health Care System
- Read the Premier’s Council first report: Hallway Health Care: A System Under Strain
- Premier’s Council on Improving Health Care and Ending Hallway Medicine Member Biographies
HQO Seeking Volunteers for New Hypertension Quality Standard Development
Health Quality Ontario (HQO) is developing a new quality standard outlining what quality care looks like for hypertension.
HQO is seeking volunteers to help support and drive the development of this work. If you or someone you know is interested, it is taking applications from people who have hypertension, their family members, health care professionals, community service providers and researchers from across Ontario.
Apply by June 21, 2019 to be considered.
To apply, click here: APPLY NOW
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Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Estimates (2019-20) Presented at Estimates Committee
The Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Estimates has begun its consideration of the Ontario governnment’s 2019-20 spending plans in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
The committee met on two days earlier this month to discuss health care and will resume for another 3hrs and 15min when MPPs return to Queen’s Park after the summer intercession.
To review the committee’s health care discussion transcripts , click here: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/committees/estimates/parliament-42/transcripts
Read More2019 Ontario Budget: Protecting Health Care for the People
On April 11, 2019, Ontario Finance Minister Hon. Vic Fedeli tabled the 2019 Ontario Budget. Following is an excerpt from the Budget document:
The government’s vision for creating a truly patient-centred health care system
Every part of the government’s plan to end hallway health care and build a modern, sustainable, and integrated health care system, starts with the patient. Today, the system is disconnected, leaving it up to patients and families to figure it out on their own. This fragmented approach to care is failing Ontario’s families and, in particular, seniors.
Together, the Province will create a connected system of care where every Ontarian is truly supported throughout their health care journey.
To read the Budget’s health care plans and commitments, click here: http://budget.ontario.ca/2019/chapter-1c.html#section-2
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Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine Releases First Report
The Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine is releasing its first report, providing an overview of the problem of hallway health care in Ontario.
“There’s much to be proud of in our health care system. However, there are also many barriers that make the system difficult to navigate for patients and providers,” said Special Advisor and Chair of the Council Dr. Rueben Devlin. “This report is a first step in advising the government on how to transform Ontario’s health care system.”
The goal of this Council is to provide strategic advice to the Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care that will help to ensure Ontarians have a health care system that has the right mix of health care professionals, the right number of hospital and long-term care beds, and that care is available when and where it’s needed.
The Council is comprised of health system leaders, including senior administrators and frontline health care professionals, and is also informed by stakeholder groups and patients. During its first four months, the Council heard from over 340 patients, health care stakeholders, and members of its six sub-committees.
Hallway Health Care: A System Under Strain identifies three key findings:
- Difficulty navigating the health care system and long wait times have a negative impact on patients’ health and on family, provider and caregiver well-being.
- The system is already facing capacity pressures and it does not have the appropriate mix of services, beds or digital tools to be ready for the expected increase in complex care needs.
- More effective coordination at the system level and at the point-of-care would make the system more efficient and achieve better value for taxpayer money.
The Council will now begin developing advice for the government on how to fix the problem of hallway health care. Recommendations will explore opportunities for improvement in digital health care, integrated health care delivery and finding efficiencies in the system to improve health outcomes for Ontarians.
“I encourage Ontarians to participate in the Council’s work by providing feedback on our first report. This will keep us accountable and help us reach our goal of improving healthcare in Ontario and ending hallway medicine,” said Dr. Devlin.
Ontarians can provide feedback on the report by visiting the following website and email address:
Quick Facts
- On an average day in 2018, there were approximately 1000 patients waiting for a hospital bed in an unconventional space or emergency department stretcher.
- According to the 2018 Health Care Experience Survey, 41 per cent of Ontarians who went to the emergency department received care for a condition that could have been treated by their primary care provider.
- Currently in Ontario, less than 1 per cent of health care appointments are conducted virtually.
Additional Resources
- Read the Premier’s Council report: Hallway Health Care: A System Under Strain
- Premier’s Council on Improving Health Care and Ending Hallway Medicine Member Biographies
2019 Pre-Budget Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs
On January 29th, the Ontario Association of Cardiologists (OAC) delivered its 2019 pre-budget submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
In it, Ontario’s Cardiologists offer recommendations to help the provincial government achieve its objectives of reduced hospital wait times, ending hallway health care, and finding efficiencies to enable enhanced investment in cardiac patient care.
To read the submission, click here: 2019 SCFEA Pre-Budget Submission (January 29, 2019).
Read MoreHealth Quality Ontario Recommendations re: Remote Monitoring of Cardiac Devices and Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)
Late last year, Health Quality Ontario, under the guidance of the Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee, recommended publicly funding remote monitoring for patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy devices with or without a defibrillator, and permanent pacemakers. For more information, click here: https://bit.ly/2F5oRiZ.
HQO also recommended publicly funding transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients with severe, symptomatic aortic valve stenosis who are at intermediate surgical risk. For more information, click here: https://bit.ly/2CQXIy1.
In both cases, HQO asked the OAC to provide experts in these fields to assist with the health technology assessment and consulted us on the draft recommendations before they were finalized.
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EQI Program Abstract Presented at Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2018
The OAC was pleased to be associated with “Ontario Echocardiography Quality Improvement Program: Lessons Learned” abstract presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2018 on Monday, October 22nd in Toronto.
To review the poster, click here: CCC 2018 EQI Collaborative FINAL
Statement from Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has undergone an organizational realignment, as part of our government’s plan to tackle the ongoing hallway healthcare crisis in our health care system. Some divisions and branches will be merged to better serve patients. These changes will clarify and simplify lines of accountability and allow our organization to be more nimble and outcome-focused.
These changes will streamline patient care and are the first steps towards enhancing the quality and efficiency of our health system. Our government will continue to listen to and consult with patients and the people who work on the front lines of our health care system to develop an integrated, modern and effective model of care that Ontarians need and deserve.
This organizational change will help ensure our government is able to fulfill our promise of developing a patient-centered health care system that is effective and provides the highest quality of care for all Ontarians.
Read MoreStatement by the OMA regarding negotiations with the Ontario government of the Physician Services Agreement
Following the election of the new Government, the OMA agreed to return to the bargaining table to see whether the two sides could agree on a PSA without going to arbitration. Unfortunately, the differences between the two sides have proven to be too great and so, mediation ended today.
The OMA and the government will now resume arbitration. Arbitration dates are the scheduled for entire week of October 22-26th. While this is a frustrating development, the OMA is committed to supporting its doctors so that they in turn can take care of their patients.
Ontario’s Government for the People Taking Immediate Action to End Hallway Health Care
Province securing more than 1,100 beds and creating 6,000 new long-term care beds to ease hospital gridlock in communities that need it most
October 3, 2018 12:30 P.M.
TORONTO — Ontario’s Government for the People is delivering on its promise to end hallway health care by taking urgent action to expand access to long-term care, reduce the strain on the health care system in advance of the upcoming flu season and work with front line health care professionals and other experts to transform the province’s health care system.
Today, Premier Doug Ford and Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, announced that Ontario is moving forward with building 6,000 new long-term care beds across Ontario.
These 6,000 new long-term care beds represent the first wave of more than 15,000 new long-term care beds that the government has committed to build over the next 5 years.
As an immediate measure, Ford and Elliott also announced that Ontario will create over 640 new beds and spaces and continue funding beds and spaces already operating in the hospital and community sectors across Ontario to help communities prepare for the surge that accompanies the upcoming flu season.
Taken together, these actions will ease pressure on hospitals, help doctors and nurses work more efficiently, and provide better, faster health care for patients and their families.
“One patient treated in a hallway is one patient too many. It’s unacceptable that people are still waiting hours before seeing a doctor, or are forced to lie on stretchers in hospital hallways when they do finally get care,” said Ford. “Patients are frustrated, families are frustrated, and doctors and nurses are frustrated. We told the people of Ontario we’d make our hospitals run better and more efficiently, and we’d get them the care they deserve. Today, we’re keeping that promise.”
“Hallway health care is a multi-faceted problem that will require real and innovative solutions,” said Elliott. “Our government will continue to listen to the people who work on the front lines of our health care system as we develop a long-term, transformational strategy to address hallway health care.”
Ford and Elliott made their announcement at the inaugural meeting of the Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine. Under the leadership of Dr. Rueben Devlin, the Council will recommend strategic priorities and actions to improve Ontario’s health outcomes and improve patient satisfaction, while making Ontario’s health care system more efficient.
“To address the problem of overcrowded hospitals, we must have a long-term vision, planning and stable funding,” said Dr. Devlin. “I look forward to working with Premier Ford, Minister Elliott and this exceptional group of leaders to bring more integration, innovation, and better use of technology to transform our health care system for the people of Ontario.”
QUICK FACTS
The additional $90 million investment to address hallway medicine will create over 640 new beds and spaces and continue funding beds and spaces already operating in the hospital and community sectors, including:
- Sinai Health System – Bridgepoint
- North Bay Regional Health Centre
- Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Hogarth Riverview Manor
- Pine Villa
- Bayshore
- Cooksville Care Centre
- Humber River Hospital – Church Street site
Some facilities will receive additional funding immediately to address current capacity
pressures and the remaining will receive funding in the fall/winter for flu season.
The following individuals will sit on the Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine:
- Dr. Rueben Devlin, Special Advisor and Chair
- Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, Professor and Dean, Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto
- Connie Clerici, CEO, Closing the Gap Healthcare
- Barb Collins, President and CEO, Humber River Hospital
- Michael Decter, President and CEO, LDIC Inc.
- Peter Harris, Barrister and Solicitor
- Dr. Jack Kitts, President and CEO, The Ottawa Hospital
- Kimberly Moran, CEO, Children’s Mental Health Ontario
- David Murray, Executive Director, Northwest Health Alliance
- Dr. Richard Reznick, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences at Queens University
- Shirlee Sharkey, President and CEO, Saint Elizabeth Health
Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine Announced
On behalf of Ontario’s cardiologists, the Ontario Association of Cardiologists congratulates and looks forward to working with Dr. Rueben Devlin in his role as Chair of the newly created Premier’s Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine to improve Ontario’s health care system and make it work for patients and their families.
The OAC welcomes the opportunity to share its ideas for improving cardiac care service delivery throughout Ontario with Dr. Devlin and the new Council and to put in place a plan that ensures all patients can continue to have access to the cardiac care services they need, close to home, regardless of where they live in the province.
Read MoreOntario’s cardiologists encouraged by the new Ontario PC government’s “Olive Branch” regarding physician services agreement negotiations
Last week, barely one week after winning a massive majority government and even before the Premier-designate and Cabinet have been sworn-in, the new Ontario PC government expressed its desire to “reset the relationship between doctors and government”.
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