Monday, February 06, 2012
Ontario’s Action Plan To Transform Health Care In Ottawa
Ontario has launched an Action Plan to transform the health care system and deal with the demographic challenges as well as the province’s deficit.
The Action Plan for Health Care in Ontario will ensure families get the best health care where and when they need it, while ensuring all Ontarians get better value for their health dollars.
The Plan will focus on three priorities aimed at preventing illness, increasing access to family doctors and supporting Ontario’s growing senior population. In the Ottawa region, in cooperation with the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), there are already three programs underway that meet each of these priorities :
- Keeping Ontarians Healthy
The Living Healthy Champlain program has supported and engaged over 1,500 people to take control of their chronic disease conditions. The program consists of workshops that run for six weeks to help people better manage their symptoms and make positive lifestyle choices.
- Faster Access to Stronger Family Health Care
The Greenbelt Family Health Team in Nepean provides primary family health care to over 6,000 patients. The clinic is using Advanced Access, a model of scheduling appointments with care providers within one or two working days, depending on the patient’s flexibility.
- Access to the Right Care, at the Right Time, in the Right Place
Over 370 seniors in the region have benefitted from a new assisted-living program which helps maintain their independence. Funded by the Champlain LHIN and operated by community agencies, services include homemaking, personal hygiene, care coordination, security checks and a 24/7 on-call service. This program is relieving pressures on hospital emergency rooms and helping to prevent premature admissions to long-term care homes, freeing these beds for people who need them the most.
The Action Plan for Health Care in Ontario builds upon the significant progress that has been made in improving Ontario’s health care system since 2003 and is the next step in the McGuinty government’s plan to protect health care for our children and grandchildren.
QUOTES
“Ottawa-Orleans has benefitted from the creation of three Family Health Teams, which have improved access to primary health care for residents and reduced the number of hospital visits. The future Orleans Family Health Hub will provide thousands of east-end residents with primary health care services – a great example of how we’re fulfilling the goals of this Action Plan.”
— Phil McNeely, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, MPP, Ottawa-Orléans
“We can’t keep spending our health dollars the way we used to. If we don’t change, we simply won’t be able to guarantee sustainable universal public health care for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren. That’s why our Action Plan will get better value for our health dollars and put patients first.”
— Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
QUICK FACTS
- In 2010 there were almost 400 more physicians and specialists in the Champlain LHIN than in 2003.
- Eleven new FHTs and one Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic have opened in the Champlain LHIN.
- Wait times for cataract surgery have been reduced by 191 days. Patients in Champlain LHIN are getting surgeries twice as fast than they were in August 2005.
- The number of seniors in Ontario will increase by 43 per cent over the next decade.
- At current spending levels, the senior population is projected to cost Ontario $24 billion more annually by 2030 — 50 per cent more than today.
- In 2010/11, over 271,000 emergency room visits were made to Ontario hospitals that could have been treated in alternative primary care settings.
- In 2009, there were 140,000 unplanned instances of patients re-admitted to hospital within a month of their original discharge.
LEARN MORE
Read the full Action Plan.
BACKGROUNDER
Living Healthy Champlain
Public Inquiries
Call ServiceOntario, Infoline
at 1-866-532-3161
TTY 1-800-387-5559.
In Toronto, TTY 416-327-4282
Hours of operation : 8:30am - 5:00pm
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