You won't see changes to the health care services you are receiving at home or in the community as the Ontario government rolls out a phased reorganization of six health agencies and 14 local health integration networks into one super-agency to be known as Ontario Health, a spokesperson for the network that serves York Region said today.
“Continuity of patient care remains a top priority,” Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) spokesperson Cheryl Cheung said. “There are no changes to home and community care services and people will continue to have access to the care they need. Home and community care services will continue as part of a patient’s existing care plan. And patients and families will continue to receive services from the health care providers and care coordinators with whom they have built relationships."
The Central LHIN acts as the coordinating body to help people who need care live independently at home and in the community. This is achieved through a variety of community partnerships that includes a team of nurses, occupational therapists, social workers and other care professionals.
The network also coordinates home care services such as assistance with bathing and dressing, meal delivery, transportation services and more.
The Ontario government passed the Connecting Care Act, 2019 on June 6 to formally establish the new Ontario Health agency.
This Crown agency will absorb the province’s 14 LHINs and six provincial health agencies, including Cancer Care Ontario, eHealth Ontario, Health Quality Ontario, Health Shared Services Ontario, Trillium Gift of Life Network and HealthForceOntario Marketing and Recruitment Agency.
"With each of these agencies having their own administrative and back-office supports, we are needlessly duplicating operations and spending money that we desperately need to pay for and enhance direct patient care," Newmarket-Aurora MPP and Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a statement. "These agencies often work toward separate visions, following their own distinct work plans, and are not well coordinated around a unified vision for patient care."
As part of the first phase, Elliott said, including the reorganization of six health agencies and 14 LHINs, the government is eliminating duplicative administrative positions, nearly half of which are currently vacant. Examples of duplication offered include positions in communications, planning, data analytics and financial services.
None of the impacted positions provide direct patient care, the health minister said in the statement.
"We understand that our plan will impact individuals' lives," said Elliott. "That's why we have asked agencies to responsibly avoid filling vacant positions and accept early retirements to minimize the impact of the reorganization into Ontario Health. We are eliminating duplicative administration, and redirecting those savings to direct patient care. We can all agree that funding frontline services instead of duplicated administration will do more good for Ontarians and is a far better use of health care dollars."
The government expects to save about $250 million this year by eliminating duplicative administration, Elliott said.
The savings realized from reorganizing these agencies and removing duplicated administration is equivalent to annual funding for 700 hospital beds or more than 6,500 long-term care beds, she added.
A statement on the Central LHIN website in response to the government’s announcement, stated that a former requirement for it to hold public board meetings has been repealed.
“Existing legislation for the other agencies, as well as new legislation governing Ontario Health, do not require board meetings be made public. To ensure a consistent approach for those agencies that will be integrated into Ontario Health, LHIN board meetings will no longer be public. The LHIN and Ontario Health boards recognize the need to engage Ontarians in continually improving their health care system. Ontario Health is determining a plan for public engagement to ensure openness and transparency.”
The Central LHIN also stated that its patient services and contacts will remain unchanged until further notice.
Check back here for more on this developing story.
For more information, visit here.
