Moving Forward with HIP
- March 2009
- Français
Work is underway at the Niagara Health System to develop the schedule for implementation which will help achieve the many changes outlined in the Hospital Improvement Plan over the next four years.
Background on Hospital Improvement Plan
In May 2008, the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network (HNHB LHIN) directed the NHS to develop a Hospital Improvement Plan which would chart a course for hospital healthcare in Niagara over the long term. Changes and revisions to the Plan were made through the Fall months and in mid-December 2008, the HNHB LHIN Board of Directors unanimously approved the revised Plan and the addendum. These documents and comprehensive background information are posted on the HIP website, along with the HIP Update newsletter.
"With a clear mandate to move forward, we have put together a framework to guide the implementation," explains NHS Board of Trustees Chair Betty-Lou Souter.
"It’s fair to say that change is often difficult, especially in the case of healthcare," she says. The Hospital Improvement Plan journey has been in some cases quite divisive. From the outset, we acknowledged this process would be a difficult one and knew there would be differing views. Moving forward, our hospital will work diligently with the Niagara community to renew and rebuild relations to help our plan for hospital health care."
Moving Forward with the Plan
As of the end of February, the NHS has submitted to the LHIN Board the following:
- A framework for the development of the implementation schedule
- An ongoing financial monitoring process
- Identification of early opportunities for implementation – These early opportunities, to be rolled out in the next several months, are detailed in the March issue of HIP Update
"Although the HIP was prompted by the inability of the NHS to balance its budget and therefore enter into an accountability agreement with the LHIN, the HIP is more about improving quality care and ensuring the right care at the right place at the right time," says NHS President & CEO Debbie Sevenpifer. "There are several indicators telling us that the overall health of Niagara residents needs to improve – and the NHS is a vital part of the total health-care picture."
"We know our population is getting older and with that comes the increased prevalence of chronic disease," Debbie explains. "If measures are not taken, the pressure on hospitals will only increase. Another major factor to consider is the decreasing availability of health-care professionals. Through the HIP and specifically through the creation of centres of excellence we can reorganize our services by eliminating duplication. This will ultimately reduce the burden of overtime and call schedules for our health-care providers."
About the Plan
"Certainly a major premise of the HIP is improving quality through the creation of centres of excellence," says Debbie. "Clinical programs require a critical mass or high volume of patients to support recruitment, clinical competency and effective use of resources."
The HIP identified centres of excellence scattered throughout NHS sites for key clinical programs including:
- Walker Family Cancer Centre
- Cardiac Catheterization Centre
- Stroke Centre
- Women’s and Children’s Health
- Complex Continuing Care with Slow-Paced Reactivation
- Mental Health Centre
- Addictions Centre
- Diabetes Centre
- Nephrology Centre
- Specialized Surgical Centres
"Some of these centres of excellence, such as cancer care, are dependent upon the opening of the new health-care complex in St. Catharines; others can happen relatively quickly using existing infrastructure (i.e. some of the surgical centres of excellence such as dental/oral surgery); while still others will be implemented in stages depending on the need for renovations or new construction," Betty-Lou explains. "We are confident that over time, these centres of excellence will improve quality overall, as well as making the NHS a magnet for recruitment and retention."
Another major direction of the HIP focuses on emergency services and ensuring that Niagara residents receive the right care at the right place at the right time. The vision in the HIP ensures that the most critical emergency patients, triage Levels 1 and 2, will arrive at the most appropriate full-service Emergency Department to receive timely and quality care. It also means that many Niagara residents will go to an Urgent Care Centre closer to home for the majority of their non-emergency needs. For more information on the difference between Emergency and Urgent care, go to our HIP site.
"Providing quality care is our number one imperative," Betty-Lou says. "The changes coming will happen in stages and be complete by 2013. Dialogue, communication and information-sharing is critical to our shared success. I invite our Niagara community to stay informed and learn more as we chart our course for better healthcare."