The Ontario government reintroduced a bill designed to improve access and coordination challenges of the provincial health care system. Bill 41: An Act to amend various Acts in the interests of patient-centred care (formally Bill 210) was reintroduced on Oct. 6. It’s intended to change the way health care is planned and delivered.
The reintroduced bill was released with some changes from its initial introduction in June 2016. Most notably, there have been details added to the act outlining the process to follow if service accountability agreements (SAAs) between health service providers (which include LHIN funded community mental health and addictions services) and the the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) can not be negotiated. Other major health care system changes proposed in June, such as the creation of LHIN sub-regions, the transfer of responsibility for home and community care from the Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) to the LHINs, and formalizing the relationships between LHINS and public health boards remain unchanged.
The objective of the bill is to evolve the health care system into one that is higher-performing, better connected, more integrated and patient-centred. The Ministry recently held a webinar on this bill, outlining the goals of the act and preliminary implementation plans for the changes proposed.
CMHA Ontario has been actively monitoring and engaging in the development process for this bill. Read the CMHA Ontario response to Patients First: A Proposal to Strengthen Patient Centered Care in Ontario