The news flash is that our healthcare system is about to be revamped.  It was announced that six agencies including Cancer Care Ontario, ehealth Ontario, Trillium Gift of Life Network, Health Shared Services, Health Quality Ontario and Healthforce Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency will be consolidated under a new umbrella organization called Ontario Health. And how could I forget, the LHIN[1]s, which only recently replaced the CCAC[2]s will also be consolidated.

It is correct that our healthcare/homecare services are understaffed and there are not enough services to go around to today’s patients/clients.  What will happen tomorrow and in 5, 10 and 15 years when our senior population increases?  How is this overhaul going to ensure better access to services and appropriate care supports?   I haven’t heard and the goal, reportedly to bring better services to patients, appears to be overreaching without the requisite indicators publicly outlined.

According to Minister Elliot she wants to ‘encourage hospitals, long-term care facilities, home-care agencies and other health service providers to form “integrated care entities.”[3]  What that means is not clear.

Of course I am in support for better access to quality healthcare and I can only hope that this is the end goal but how it is going to be achieved is not clear.  Having been in this industry for over 30 years I have seen a lot of changes. Governments moving from centralized models to decentralized models of care  and then reorganizing back to centralized models.   However given that they (the medical experts)  still can’t agree  whether babies should sleep on their stomachs or their backs, I should not be surprised……

[1] Local Health Integration Network

[2] Community Care Access Centre

[3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-ontario-health-super-agency-lhin-cancer-care-1.5032830