Hamilton to lead the way in development of Ontario Health Teams

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Published November 26, 2019 at 5:39 pm

Hamilton will be one of the first community in Ontario to establish an Ontario Health Team.

Hamilton will be one of the first community in Ontario to establish an Ontario Health Team.

The provincial government announced Tuesday (Nov. 26) that Hamilton will be one of the first communities in Ontario to move forward with establishing an Ontario Health Team.

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, made the announcement at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre in downtown Hamilton.

“With our new Hamilton Health Team, patients will benefit from better-integrated health care, with a seamless experience when moving between different health-care services, providers and settings,” said Elliott.

Representatives from the Hamilton Health Team (HHT) were also on hand for the announcement.

“This is a remarkable opportunity to redesign and rebuild health care, focused on improving access for patients and creating more opportunities for providers to work together,” said John Fleming, co-chair of the HHT.

The Hamilton Health Team is a collaboration of Hamilton health and social service partners and includes representation from more than 20 organizations, reflecting primary care, home care, hospitals, community agencies, long-term care, mental health, Indigenous health, post-secondary education, and the City of Hamilton (Healthy and Safe Communities Department, Public Health and Paramedic Services), among others.

“I am incredibly proud of the patients and partners who have come together from across Hamilton to bring us to this point,” Fleming said in a press release. “We look forward to working with the Ministry and other Ontario Health Teams as we move forward.”

The announcement means that HHT can move forward with planning its early initiatives.

This work focusses on three priority populations in Hamilton, based on data demonstrating a need to better integrate care for an ageing population and provide more accessible mental health services:

  • Adults with mental health and addiction concerns
  • Children and youth with mental health and addiction concerns
  • Older adults with multiple chronic conditions

The early work will expand on key initiatives already in progress in Hamilton related to early identification, population areas and co-ordinated patient transitions between health-care providers.

“As a patient who has contributed to changes in health care, I’ve seen the impact we can have when we work with health-care providers to make improvements, said Bernice King, co-chair of the HHT. “Patients see the gaps and know the opportunities to create a more integrated and seamless care system.”

There will also be an exploration of increasing access to digital tools such as virtual visits and health records, which would be implemented in phases over time.

The HHT will begin implementing some of their proposed programs and services in 2020 and will communicate with patients and families about the changes and improvements they can expect in their community.

There are no immediate changes or impacts for patients or health-care providers at this time.

More than 200 leaders, community members, patients, and physicians took part in workshops to develop the application.

Over 130 primary care physicians are already engaged, representing more than 200,000 patients.

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