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Ontario Health Quality Council Report Highlights
Hospital Succeses
The Ontario Health Quality Council's (OHQC) 2009 Yearly Report profiles
North York General Hospital's reduction of cancer wait times and patient
flow initiatives.
Highlighted as examples effective quality improvement initiatives are
our efforts to 1) improve patient flow in the emergency department;
2) reduce cancer wait times; and 3) ease the flow of patients from hospital
to long-term care.
Our work in reducing wait times for cancer surgeries is given particular
empasis and has generated media attention. Here is an excerpt from the
OHQC
news release:
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"Long waits for surgery cause needless anxiety and may result
in a patient's condition getting worse," said OHQC CEO, Dr.
Ben Chan. "This is a serious problem, but solving it
doesn't require large-scale restructuring or great expense."
The OHQC report notes that North York General Hospital
has consistently met wait time cancer surgery targets through
better coordinated cancer care. "We strongly encourage all
hospitals that do urgent cancer surgery to take a close look at
their numbers and commit to aggressive targets to bring down their
wait times to match the best in the province."
OHQC
news release, June 9, 2009
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Minister of Health and Long-Term Care David Caplan was interviewed
for the Canadian Press article on the report's release, Waits for
cancer surgery twice as long in Ontario, and provided a quote on
our hospital's success in reducing cancer surgery wait times:
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"North York General will be a great case study for other
hospitals to follow, said Health Minister David Caplan.
"We know that there are practices out there, we know there are
things we can do," Caplan said in an interview.
Canadian
Press, June 9, 2009
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An editorial
in Toronto Star on June 11, titled Healthy Solutions,
highlighted our hospital as a leader in cancer wait times. Here is an
excerpt:
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Across the province, only half the surgeries cancer patients urgently
need are done within the required two-week window.
Yet North York General manages to achieve the target
97 per cent of the time. If North York can do it, why can't everyone
else?
Everyone can, according to Dr. Ben Chan, CEO of the Ontario Health
Quality Council, which issued its annual report this week. What's
more, says Chan, "a lot of the solutions do not require additional
money or resources." North York General's success is in large
part due to a simple yet effective patient booking system.
Toronto
Star Editorial June 11, 2009
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In the June 12 North York Mirror article Follow NYGH's lead,
province urges hospitals, Susan Kwolek, Vice President and
Chief Nursing Executive, North York General Hospital, spoke about the
link between our hospital's culture and quality patient care:
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...Kwolek said the hospital has developed a culture in which all
front-line workers from doctors and nurses to housekeeping and
clinic staff are encouraged to think what it would be like if
it was their parent, child or sibling needing care and what they
can do to improve the system.
"It speaks to our broad attention to quality improvement
in the organization," she said.
She dismissed suggestions personal care is sacrificed in meeting
benchmarks such as shorter wait times, arguing the hospital's
first goal is providing quality patient care and scores are simply
a positive outcome of that philosophy.
North
York Mirror, June 12, 2009
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Here are links to the full report, news release, individual NYGH success
stories, and selected media articles.
OHQC Annual Report
OHQC
News Release June 9, 2009
Link to the three NYGH success studies:
1. Access to emergency department
Success study: Saving time and making patients safer by improving
flow in North York General's emergency department.
2. Waits for specialized procedures, tests and surgery
Success study: North York General Hospital - Cancer
waits
3. Smooth hand-offs from hospital to other services
Success study: Easing the flow of patients from
hospital to long-term care
Canadian Press,
Waits for cancer surgery twice as long in Ontario, that
quotes David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, June
9, 2009
Toronto Star
editorial, Healthy Solutions, June 11, 2009
North York Mirror, Follow NYGH's lead, province urges hospitals,
June 12, 2009, that quotes Ontario Health Quality Council CEO Ben
Chan and Susan Kwolek, Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive,
North York General Hospital.
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