Years away yet

Paul Huras is CEO of the South East LHIN.

New hospital planners can just about see the starting blocks

A new hospital in Picton is still seven to 10 years away. Further, there is no guarantee the project will ever be approved—and few details exist about what a new hospital will comprise, aside from an emergency department and a handful of inpatient beds.

Nevertheless, officials with the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and Quinte Health Care (QHC) were upbeat in their presentation to council last week.

Mayor Robert Quaiff requested the update. At the Rural Ontario Municipalities conference in Toronto last February, County representatives were able get some time with the new health minister, Eric Hoskins. Hoskins, a physician, was sympathetic to the concerns the County delegation brought to him—particularly the challenges facing rural healthcare.

In turn, the minister impressed upon the mayor and councillors in attendance in the meeting that it was critical that the community and council work closely and supportively with the LHIN and QHC.

Thursday’s meeting was meant to help facilitate cooperation.

HOW AND WHEN
The LHIN’s chief executive, Paul Huras, explained to council that decision-making for a new hospital was still at a preliminary stage— even after nearly a decade of planning and discussions. He defended the process, saying it is difficult to build for an evolving future.

“Decision-making needs to be kept at a central level,” explained Huras. “You don’t want a building that will be out-of-date in few years.”

Huras says the LHIN’s role is to act as eyes and ears for the ministry and to ensure plans remain “truly aligned with community needs.”

But who defines community need?

“We identify needs along with our key healthcare partners,” said Huras.

Several councillors pressed the LHIN chief for timeline.

Huras said it was possible that shovels could be in the ground within seven years—but he noted that unrealistic notions could stifle the smooth flow of the planning and decision-making process. He left it to council’s imagination as to what constituted an unrealistic notion.

Katherine Stansfield was vice president of patient services at QHC. In September she takes on a new role as head of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba.

Other councillors wanted to know if a recent funding announced by the Ministry of Health for small hospitals might benefit Prince Edward County Memorial (PECMH).

Huras explained that as part of QHC, the PECMH wasn’t considered a small hospital. He noted that under current funding reform, the Picton hospital competes on efficiency with large urban hospitals. He pointed to one Toronto hospital that received millions of dollars in additional base funding because it dispenses care in a more cost-efficient way than, say, QHC which has lost base funding.

SPEED IS GOOD
QHC’s Katherine Stansfield says the pace of response from the ministry has been encouraging to her and her colleagues working on the new hospital submission. But she figures it is still likely 10 years before final approval is received. Stansfield explained that the Picton hospital submission has not yet made it to stage one. Her team has been advised not to proceed with any plans until ministry approval to move to the initial stage has been received.

Stansfield’s presentation to council was among her final tasks as Chief Nursing Officer and vice-president of patient services at QHC. In August, she takes the reins as president and CEO of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba.

Councillor Barry Turpin asked if endoscopy, or another specialized care capability, was being considered in the planning of a new hospital.

Stansfield stepped around the question, saying it was too soon to know.

“I don’t know if endoscopy will be around in seven to 10 years,” said Stansfield. “I expect the real need in this community in decade will be a robust senior’s care capability.”

Prince Edward Family Health Team executive director Stephanie MacLaren said her group was an active and engaged stakeholder in the planning process. She said the Family Health Team is already an agile innovator in rural integrated health care, and predicted that colocation of its clinics and offices alongside a new hospital will deliver significant benefits as a health hub in this community.

When it was over, all participants could claim they had behaved in a collegial and supportive way. What that means for the prospects of a new hospital in Picton won’t be clear for some time.