Toronto Central LHIN ER Wait Times Reduced by 43 Per Cent

Local ER Pay-for-Results Program Expanded with $6.5 million Investment

TORONTO, July 29 /CNW/ -

NEWS

Ontario is expanding its successful Pay-for-Results program and giving 8 hospitals in the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network the tools they need to drive down ER wait times and ensure patients can get the emergency care they need, sooner.

Hospitals will receive $6.5 million in Pay-for-Results funding to implement initiatives that will help reduce ER wait times. Over the last two years, the participating hospitals in Toronto Central LHIN were able to reduce ER wait times by 43 per cent thanks to funding from this program.

Pay-for-Results helps hospitals meet specific emergency room (ER) wait time reduction targets. This year, 71 Ontario hospitals will receive Pay-for-Results funding. All of them have committed to treat more patients within the targets, aiming to improve performance by 15 per cent over the course of the year.

To reach the target, hospitals will use the funds to do things like:

    
    -   expand staffing as part of emergency department teams and reorganize
        how these teams interact to encourage more collaboration
    -   create designated areas in the ER for rapid assessments to improve
        patient flow
    

Reducing ER wait times builds on the government's Open Ontario plan to provide more access to health care services while improving accountability for patients.

QUOTE

"The Pay-for-Results program is central to the LHIN's strategy to reduce ER wait times, which involves hospitals and community agencies working together to reduce ER visits and increase people's access to community services. With the Pay-for-Results program people are receiving emergency care faster and safely transitioning home after an ER visit."

-- Dennis Magill, Acting Board Chair, Toronto Central LHIN

QUICK FACTS

    
    -   As part of the Pay-for-Results program, the Ontario government is
        providing up to a total of $100 million to the 14 LHINs.
    -   There are 163 emergency rooms in the province, with 2.8 million
        people making 5.25 million visits to these ERs each year.
    

Pay-for-Results Program

Ontario is providing Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network with $6.5 million for meeting specific emergency room (ER) wait time reduction targets. Toronto Central LHIN reported an ER wait time reduction of 43 per cent at its hospitals with the largest reduction being 63 per cent at both St. Michael's Hospital and Toronto General Hospital. Over the last two years the Pay-for-Results Program has helped participating hospitals reduce the overall amount of time that Ontarians spend in the province's ERs by 21 per cent.

    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Toronto Central Local Health                  2010/11 ER Pay-For-Results
     Integration Network                                   Funding
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Mount Sinai Hospital                                            $592,700
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St. Joseph's Health Centre                                    $1,726,800
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    St. Michael's Hospital                                          $853,100
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre                               $623,400
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Toronto East General Hospital                                   $778,900
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Toronto General Hospital (University Health Network)            $983,200
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Toronto Western Hospital (University Health Network)            $123,200
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Hospital for Sick Children                                  $848,600
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           TOTAL                  $6,529,900
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

Ontario provides $100 million in funding for hospitals across the province for the ER Pay-For-Results Program as follows:

    
    -   $60 million will be distributed among all hospitals immediately, to
        help fund projects aimed at decreasing overall ER wait times and
        lowering the time patients wait for an initial assessment.

    -   $40 million will be set aside for hospitals who exceed baseline
        performance quarterly. Hospitals' performance will be reviewed on a
        quarterly basis.
    

For further information: Media Contact: Susana Hsu, Toronto Central LHIN, 416-969-3327, [email protected]