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Next Step in Wait Times Strategy Will Result In 5,380 More Surgeries
TORONTO, Dec. 14 /CNW/ - The McGuinty government is tackling key wait
times in the healthcare system by delivering 5,380 more cancer, cataract and
hip and knee replacement surgeries, Health and Long-Term Care Minister George
Smitherman announced today.
"Our government is taking action to ensure people won't have to suffer
through long waiting periods if they require cataract surgery, hip and knee
replacements or life-saving cancer surgery," said Smitherman. "With these
extra procedures, thousands of Ontarians will regain their mobility and
independence, and once again enjoy the simple pleasures of reading a book or
driving and spending time with their children and grandchildren."
The government is investing $26 million in 45 hospitals across the
province to boost the number of surgeries performed by 5,380 and start to
clear up the surgical backlogs. Each of these hospitals has the necessary
staff and equipment to immediately begin performing the extra surgeries and
have them completed before the end of March 2005.
Today's announcement will result in:
- $10 million for an extra 1,700 cancer surgeries
- $14.5 million for an additional 1,680 hip and knee replacements
surgeries and rehabilitation services
- $1.5 million for an additional 2000 cataract surgeries
This funding, from the First Ministers' Meeting Agreement in September
2004, is part of the Ontario government's overall investment of $107 million,
announced last month, to kick start the Ontario Wait Time Strategy. Through
the strategy, the government is targeting wait times in five key health
services - cataract surgery, cancer surgery, cardiac procedures, hip and knee
joint replacements, and MRI/CT exams.
"This first bite of the backlog is part of a greater effort to shorten
wait times across the province through the government's Wait Time Strategy,"
said Dr. Alan Hudson, who is leading the implementation of the strategy. "For
the first time, a government is building a system where surgeries will be
coordinated across Ontario to ensure patients get the timely care they need."
"Today's announcement is a welcome first step toward shorter wait times
in these key areas," said Hilary Short, President of the Ontario Hospital
Association. "This new funding will allow Ontario's hospitals to treat these
patients more quickly, and will help ensure that Ontario's hospitals are
equipped to play a central role in the Ontario Wait Time Strategy."
Besides increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, the government's
Wait Time Strategy will include the collection of data on wait times, which
will be made available on a public website; improving efficiencies in the
health care system so more people can be treated; and developing a consistent
method of prioritizing patients waiting for care.
This news release, along with other media materials, such as matte
stories and audio clips, on other subjects, are available on our website at:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca under the News Media section.
Version française disponible
Backgrounder
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THE WAIT TIME STRATEGY
Background
Reducing wait times for key health services is one of the McGuinty
government's top priorities and an important part of its strategy to transform
the province's health system. Wait times are a symptom of a broader problem:
the lack of consistent management of how patients get access to care.
Ontario's Wait Time Strategy is designed to improve access to health care
services and reduce the time that Ontarians wait for services in five areas by
December 2006: cancer surgery, selected cardiac procedures, cataract surgery,
hip and knee total joint replacements, and MRI/CT scans. These areas are
associated with a high degree of disease and disability, and are of particular
concern to Ontarians.
Under the strategy, wait times will be improved by expanding capacity
through targeted volume increases, greater efficiencies and standardizing
medical and administrative "best practices" so that more people can be treated
within the same time period. The strategy will make hospitals accountable for
managing access to these services. The development of an information system
will help achieve this goal. The strategy's success will be tracked through a
comprehensive provincial registry and the results made available on a public
web site. We will begin collecting data immediately and the registry will
report on wait times in all five areas by the end of December 2006. The
province's commitment to reduce wait times is also reflected nationally.
Premier Dalton McGuinty played an influential role in promoting a Canadian
wait time strategy at the 2004 Annual Conference of Federal-Provincial-
Territorial Ministers of Health.
Activities
Dr. Alan Hudson has been appointed to advise the government on Ontario's
Wait Time Strategy. He is being assisted by Dr. Peter Glynn, a foremost
Canadian wait times expert who, most recently, was instrumental in advising
the Saskatchewan government about establishing its wait time registry and
web site. Many practitioners and organizations are participating in its
development. Expert panels are focusing on the five service areas, with three
other panels advising on surgical efficiency, information management, and
hospital issues. (This latter group is being led by the Ontario Hospital
Association.) Human resource requirements will also be receiving attention.
Focus, Solutions and Progress
The strategy focuses on the time period from when the decision is made to
order an MRI/CT scan or proceed with surgery to when the scan or surgery is
completed. The focus is on building the foundation for achieving and
sustaining appropriate wait times for the five selected services by December
2006, and for a broader range of services beyond 2006.
Accountability
No one in Ontario has really been accountable for making sure that
patients have appropriate access to services. The strategy makes hospital
boards accountable for equitable access to services in their organizations.
The government will monitor the performance of hospitals against established
targets.
Selected hospitals have been funded to perform the first round of
additional cancer, cardiac, cataract, and hip and knee joint replacement
surgeries. Hospital boards are accountable for performing these surgeries by
the end of March 2005, and providing the government with wait time and quality
information.
Access Management
A comprehensive provincial information system is being developed that
will help manage and monitor wait times both locally and across the province.
Expert panels are identifying wait list management issues, developing methods
for prioritizing patients, and advising on quality care in their areas. Under
this new system, patients will be treated according to how urgent their
condition is rather than where they live, who their physician is, or which
hospital they are in. All patients will receive care within generally accepted
wait times.
Capacity
Under the strategy, medical and administrative best practices will be
standardized so that a hospital's resources - its health care providers,
capital equipment and operating funds - will be used as efficiently and
effectively as possible, while maintaining quality and safety standards.
Sufficient resources will also be put in place to reduce wait times.
Evaluation
Patient outcomes, procedure rates, and the appropriateness and quality of
care will be evaluated in each of the five areas. This will enable the
government to identify problem areas and potential bottlenecks, and focus on
local, regional and provincial solutions. The Institute for Clinical
Evaluative Sciences has been funded to develop an access index that will
measure rates for procedures, wait times, appropriateness, quality and
outcomes for the five areas. The first public report is expected in the spring
of 2005.
Communication
A public website is being developed that will report wait time
information in the five areas. Patients will be able to ask their physicians
to refer them to a particular hospital for treatment, and physicians will be
able to use this information to help guide patient-referral decisions. The
website is expected to go live soon, with wait time data being added as it
becomes available.
Final Comments
The strategy represents a cultural shift in access management and
accountability. Hospitals will now be accountable for managing access to the
five services provided in their facilities, and will have to make their wait
time information available to the public through the website. The strategy
also focuses on the patient. It will create an atmosphere of transparency, so
patients can easily understand what is being done to improve wait times and
access to care and hold the system to account.
Backgrounder
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IMPROVING ACCESS TO CANCER, HIP AND KNEE, AND CATARACT SURGERIES
The McGuinty government is improving access to cancer, hip and knee, and
cataract surgeries for more Ontarians this year with an investment of
$24.3 million in hospitals across the province. Listed below is a breakdown of
the funding:
<<
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Hospital City Addi-
tional Hip Addi- Cataract Addi- Cancer
Hip and tional Funding tional Fund-
and Knee Cataract Cancer ing
Knee Funding Surgeries Surgeries
Surgeries
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Central East
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Lakeridge
Health
Corporation Oshawa 60 $420,576 100 $75,000 70 $329,535
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peterborough Peterborough 65 $454,986 84 $63,000
Regional
Health
Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Royal Barrie 50 $353,670 110 $82,500
Victoria
Hospital of
Barrie Inc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
York Richmond 58 $412,554 100 $75,000
Central Hill
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Central
South
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Joseph's Hamilton 44 $398,458 125 $93,750 98 $641,439
Healthcare
Hamilton
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Brantford 40 $279,108 72 $54,000
Brantford
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southlake Newmarket 59 $413,694 50 $193,707
Regional
Health
Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamilton Hamilton 59 $541,638 113 $809,712
Health
Sciences
Corporation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Central West
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The Credit Mississauga 51 $383,520 76 $57,000 45 $156,083
Valley
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trillium Mississauga 108 $823,674 170 $127,500 110 $439,610
Health
Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Halton Oakville 36 $247,752 68 $51,000
Healthcare
Services
Corporation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cambridge Cambridge 51 $350,982
Memorial
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guelph Guelph 52 $357,864
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Burlington 24 $165,168
Brant
Memorial
Hospital
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St. Mary's Kitchener 135 $101,250
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand River Kitchener 40 $184,739
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
East
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kingston Kingston 62 $612,732 45 $285,817
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ottawa Ottawa 132 $1,178,760 212 $1,459,303
Hospital
Corporation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hôpital Ottawa 35 $277,236
Montfort
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Perth and Smiths Falls 20 $137,640
Smiths Falls
District
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Queensway-
Carleton
Hospital Ottawa 40 $275,280
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cornwall Cornwall 82 $61,500
Community
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pembroke Pembroke 43 $32,250
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quinte Belleville 52 $39,000
Healthcare
Corporation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
North
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hôpital Sudbury 25 $175,878 49 $36,750 60 $331,896
régional
de Sudbury
Regional
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thunder Thunder 23 $162,114 33 $24,750 40 $173,713
Bay Bay
Regional
Health
Sciences
Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Bay North Bay 24 $168,996 45 $33,750
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sault Area Sault Ste. 24 $168,996 25 $18,750
Hospital Marie
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Elliot 20 $15,000
Joseph's Lake
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
South West
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hotel-Dieu Windsor 34 $233,988 71 $53,250 37 $134,661
Grace
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bluewater Sarnia 28 $192,696 30 $22,500
Health
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grey Bruce Owen Sound 29 $199,578 30 $22,500
Health
Services
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. London 72 $54,000 45 $218,190
Joseph's
Health
Care,
London
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
London London 60 $535,800 164 $1,174,300
Health
Sciences
Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windsor Windsor 34 $233,988
Regional
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Public Chatham 30 $22,500
General
Hospital
Society of
Chatham
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toronto
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
North York Toronto 60 $412,920 90 $67,500 45 $188,060
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rouge Toronto 36 $247,752 50 $37,500 45 $126,904
Valley
Health
System
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Toronto 50 $344,100 90 $67,500
Joseph's
Health
Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Toronto 30 $206,460 148 $111,000
Toronto
East
General
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Toronto 30 $306,666 44 $271,305
Michael's
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
University Toronto 75 $704,824 236 $1,648,527
Health
Network
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Toronto 72 $495,504
Scarborough
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunnybrook Toronto 121 $681,346
& Women's
College
Health
Science
Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mount Sinai Toronto 83 $553,274
Hospital
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rehabilitation
Services
to be allocated $1,700,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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1,680 2,000 1,703
$14,575,552 $1,500,000 $10,002,121
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>>
-30-
For further information: Members of the media: Eva Lannon, Minister's Office, (416) 327-4320; Dan Strasbourg, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, (416) 314-6197; Members of the general public: (416) 327-4327, or (800) 268-1154
Other news releases disseminated by this ministry
