London-Middlesex has been granted approval for a health team to organize and deliver health services to area residents.
Dubbed the Western Ontario Health Team, the new governance group is made up of dozens of health-care agencies in London and Middlesex County. It was among five new Ontario health teams to be announced on Thursday.
"The Western Ontario Health Team will implement a new model of care that will better connect patients and providers in their communities," said Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott, who was at the Middlesex London Paramedic Services Headquarters on Adelaide Street for the announcement. "In their first year here, the Western Ontario Health Team will focus on patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or congestive heart failure who need more support and coordinated care to prevent future emergency hospital visits."
The creation of health teams is part of the Ford government's overhaul of health administration across the province. The teams replace the province's 14 local health integration networks (LHIN). The provincially funded teams are smaller than the LHINs, overseeing a geographic area of roughly 300,000 people.
"Through an Ontario health team, patients experience easier transition from one health provider to another. For example, the transition from hospital to home care with one patient story, one patient record, and one care plan," said Elliott.
This is the second round of health teams to be introduced in Ontario since the province announced its new approach to health care administration in February 2019. Twenty-four other teams including in Chatham-Kent and Huron-Perth were approved at the end of last year.
Elliott also announced on Thursday $25.25 million in funding to go directly to support the current 29 Ontario health teams. Of that, $9.5 million has been earmarked for virtual care. It's a move Elliott said would provide more needed support to vulnerable populations and those who have tested positive for COVID-19 by allowing remote access and increased monitoring.
Linda Crossley-Hauch, Western Ontario Health Team co-chair. (Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
"We have been provided with a remarkable opportunity to improve access for our patients and work more collaboratively as a care system," said Linda Crossley-Hauch, Western Ontario Health Team co-chair. "It is especially significant today, in the midst of a global pandemic, that we continue to find ways to work together in a more integrated and seamless way."
An additional 17 regions across the province have submitted applications to form health teams. If approved, the combined 46 health teams would cover 80 percent of the province's population.