Why is this focus on the Right Care at the Right Time so important?

The Right Care at the Right Time is about ensuring patients receive the care they need, when they need it. It focuses on the patient journey and the way care is planned and delivered, including medical care, physical resources, and internal systems.

The Right Care at the Right Time is also about transitions in care. This refers to the care and resources needed to support patients throughout their journey at the Hospital, from admission to discharge and beyond, while maintaining safety, quality and patient satisfaction.

The Right Care at the Right Time is about compassion. It also enhances the flow of care, communication, knowledge, and funds.

Transitions have a significant impact on the lives of patients and their families. Transitions in care are also known to be the points of greatest risk for errors. Many patient flow initiatives are currently underway, especially at the corporate level. We can do more at the bedside where our actions directly impact and support the patient, as well as the people who care for our patients.

While all Hospital’s in Ontario, and across Canada, are struggling with high patient volumes, it’s important to note that our Emergency Department is one of the busiest in the province. This, along with planned admissions, means that we average approximately 60 admissions per day. Every improvement we make ensures that when patients are admitted they are able to move into an inpatient bed sooner.

How much of the Strategic Plan 2020 will be completed before transitioning to the new plan?

Of 224 actions, 207 (91%) are either already complete or on-time. Completing most remaining actions by late 2019 is achievable and expected.

Why do such a focused, transitional plan?

With significant changes to our health care system looming, it doesn’t make sense to develop a five year strategic plan when we don’t know what the system structure will be, who our partners are, or how funding will be determined.

A strategic plan focuses the energy, resources, and time of everyone in the organization in the same direction. With 5, 10 or even 20 Strategic Goals, our team loses focus, which dilutes our efforts and makes success almost impossible. This is especially problematic when there are too many goals at the highest levels of the organization, all of which eventually cascade into dozens and ultimately hundreds of objectives and actions, creating a web of complexity.

As we narrow the focus to one or two wildly important goals, we can easily concentrate on priorities with achievable targets.

A focused, transitional plan that prioritizes the Right Care at the Right Time benefits patients and their families and will better prepare our Hospital for success as we move forward.

What about the current strategic directions? Are we no longer focusing on them?

We have achieved a lot of meaningful successes within each direction and learned a lot about what works, and what is important.

We will apply on the same lenses (Comprehensive Clinical Care, Patient Experience, Seniors’ Health, Indigenous Health and Acute Mental Health) in a different and deeper way. The Right Care at the Right Time means pursuing and applying initiatives and resources to meet the specific needs of most vulnerable patients.

Will we have an opportunity to contribute to the transitional plan?

Planning will involve engagement with stakeholders throughout the process. The details of the Big Promise, the strategic directions, and the outcome metrics will be developed through engagement with the Board and Senior Leadership Council. The detailed objectives, tactics and lead metrics will be developed through engagement with hospital leadership, patients, staff and professional staff.