Province Provides Details on New Plan for Health Care Reform
February 26, 2019
Today, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, provided initial details on the Government of Ontario's plan for health care reform, including:
Introducing legislation that would, if passed, support the establishment of local Ontario Health Teams, with the aim of connecting health care providers and services around patients and families, and integrating multiple existing provincial agencies into a single health agency – Ontario Health.
The creation of Ontario Health would dissolve and re-incorporate a number of existing bodies, including:
Cancer Care Ontario
Health Quality Ontario
eHealth Ontario
Trillium Gift of Life Network
Health Shared Services Ontario
HealthForce Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency
Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs)
If the legislation is passed, the consolidation of agencies and provincial services and programs into the Ontario Health agency would be implemented over a number of years.
Ontario Health Teams would be responsible for delivering all of the care for their patients, understanding their health care history and needs, and directly connecting them to services, including: primary care; hospitals; home and community care; palliative care; residential long-term care; and mental health and addictions services.