The Ford Government is unveiling a plan to reduce wait times for a variety of procedures using community clinics.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones insists care will be available at no cost to patients with a valid OHIP card.
“Timely and convenient access to surgery and diagnostic imaging is critical to keeping people healthy,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This plan will boost the availability of publicly funded health services in Ontario, ensuring that Ontarians currently waiting for specialized surgeries will have greater access to the world class care they need, where and when they need it.”
The first phase of the plan targets a backlog of cataract surgeries at centres in Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Ottawa.
Jones says step two will expand the scope of community surgical and diagnostic centres to address regional needs with a continued focus on cataracts, as well as MRI and CT imaging and colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures.
The third phase includes new legislation to be introduced next month to allow existing community diagnostic centres to conduct more MRI and CT scans and eventually hip and knee replacements as well.
“This is an important solution that can help address wait times, one of the biggest structural problems in the health-care system,” Allan O’Dette, CEO of the Ontario Medical Association said. “Integrating these new centres with hospitals and the broader health-care system will help ensure high-quality care and patient safety and free up beds and operating rooms for emergency, acute and complex cases.”
Provincial figures indicate there are 206,000 people waiting for surgical procedures across Ontario.
Funding agreements with new community surgical and diagnostic centres will require these facilities to work with local public hospitals to ensure health system integration and linkages, including connection and reporting into the province’s wait times information system and participation in regional central intakes, where available.