LOCAL HEALTH INTEGRATION NETWORK (LHIN) CORE SET OF DELIVERABLES
The current provincial government has committed in the current budget that has passed to deliver what they refer to as “Providing the Right Care, at the Right Time, in the Right Place.” In their key action plan for health care they have committed to improving access to care for individuals in the place of their own choosing. This includes the patients home for as long as possible to avoid emergency wait times or waits for long-term care home.
Louise Paquette the CEO of the North East Local Health Integration Network released in May of this year the NE LHIN’s “Integrated Health Services Plan 2013-2016” in which states:
“…a key NE LHIN priority is to enhance care coordination and transitions to improve the patient experience. This includes developing the range and capacity of end-of-life services across our region. Our goal is to see an increase in the number of people receiving palliative care in settings other than hospitals, because that’s what fellow Northerners have told us they want”
As a direct result of the NE LHINs service plan Heather Westaway was hired as the North East Regional Hospice Palliative Care Coordinator to implement what is called the “shared care team.” The first pilot of the “shared care team” has been implemented in Sudbury with the intention of implementing a similar model in the Nipissing District in October of 2013.
The NE LHIN has agreed to core set of deliverables to be accomplished by March of 2015:
LHINS have agreed to increase the number of Ontarians who receive palliative care outside of acute care by 10% by Q4 of 2014-2015 by:
- Established/strengthened regional palliative care program with specialized and advanced chronic disease resources coordinated at the regional level in place for 18 months
- Implemented a palliative care indicators
- Implemented a Palliative Care Balanced Scorecard
- Service Agreements with health service providers (HSPs) updated to support tracking of each HSPs contribution to regional goals
- Care coordination role implemented through collaboration with all palliative care HSPs across continuum of care
- Outreach process established across all palliative care HSP’s across the continuum of care to identify individuals with advanced chronic disease and connect them with an extended inter-professional team
