The province has announced plans to overhaul Ontario's health care system.
Health Minister Christine Elliott announced Tuesday morning that Ontario is merging 20 health agencies into one "super agency" and that the province will establish so called 'Local Health Teams' to co-ordinate care as part of a system overhaul.
The government intends to introduce legislation later today.
Elliott says too much time is spent maintaining a fragmented system and far too many people believe it is the patient or family's job to navigate the complicated landscape.
A new agency, called Ontario Health, will consolidate local health integration networks, Cancer Care Ontario, eHealth Ontario and several other agencies.
"Today is a new day for health care in Ontario," said Health Minister Christine Elliott.
"I'm proud to announce that our plan starts right at home in our communities. One of our key priorities as a government is to deliver local, community based care, unencumbered by bureaucracy."
Elliott says she knows it will take time to bring these agencies together to form a new and more effective organization....
"If we are truly serious about building a health care system centred around you and your families, we need to roll up our sleeves and put in the hard work to get there."
She believes the province needs to be bold and creative pointing out that for every dollar the government spends, 42 cents is spent on health care.
Ontario Health Teams will be established to provide what Elliott calls seamless access to health services, including primary care, hospitals, home and community care, palliative care, residential long-term care, and mental health and addictions services.
The government says people will still be able to choose who provides their care, and more choices will be available through technology, such as giving patients an option to securely access their electronic health records and virtual care options.
Hotel-Dieu Grace-Healthcare in Windsor seen on September 5, 2017. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
Meanwhile, the CEO of Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor is reassured by today's provincial announcement on restructuring health care.
Janice Kaffer admits there weren't many details released this morning but believes Health Minister Christine Elliott understands the value of community and appears to really understand the value of rehabilitation services, which is provided by Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
She appreciated hearing the minister say the changes will take some time to implement.
"A rapid pace of change which potentially would destablize [health care] and so hearing from her today that she knows and her government knows that it is going to take some time to achieve the ends that they are looking at achieving, I think that was a reassuring message."
She is anxious to hear the details behind the new Ontario Health Teams.
"What the vision is that there will be a group of providers that come together and pool their resources and their connectivity to be able to create a seamless journey."
Minister Elliott says the system is in need of transformational change and is past the point of tinkering around the edges.