Update on the Hospital Improvement Plan
Update on Early Opportunities
Surgical or Peri-Operative Program – Moving to Centres of Excellence
Ophthalmology – Detailed meetings among NHS program leads have been taking place over the last few months, to move this service from five sites to two sites, at Ontario Street Site – St. Catharines and Welland Site, which occurred on May 19. This is the first step towards creating a Centre of Excellence in Ophthalmology.
Plastic Surgery – Also on May 19, this program moved from three sites to two – Greater Niagara General Site and St. Catharines General Site – with clinics continuing to operate at Welland Site.
Dental Surgery – Oral and Dental Surgery has consolidated from five sites to two sites on May 19. Greater Niagara General and St. Catharines General sites now offer this service.
A fond farewell to a long service
This month signals the end of the surgical service provided in Fort Erie and Port Colborne. The Operating Room, Post-Anaesthetic Recovery suite and Day Surgery unit is a separate world within the hospital environment. Nursing staff and physicians/surgeons work side-by-side in an often high-stress environment. The result is a tight-knit, caring group of colleagues who provide an important service.
The camaraderie of the staff in these departments over the years has been an important part of both Douglas Memorial and Port Colborne sites. Those friendships will remain, although the work environment is changing.
This transition occurred May 19 thanks to the professionalism of staff. Patients will now go to Niagara Falls, St. Catharines or Welland for day surgery, just as they do for inpatient surgery.
“As staff from Fort Erie and Port Colborne move into their new positions at other sites, we know their new colleagues will welcome them kindly,” says President and CEO Debbie Sevenpifer. “To the eight staff from both sites who are transferring and retiring, we wish the very best.” «
Day Surgery Closure at Fort Erie and Port Colborne – The Operating Room suites closed on May 15 and patients have been booked into the three larger sites.
Medicine Program
Dedicated Stroke Inpatient Unit - At this time, Niagara Health is working collaboratively with the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) to open a 10-bed Stroke unit at Greater Niagara General Site this summer.
Diabetes Centre Hub – It is anticipated that the administrative services and some clinics from Ontario Street Site will move to Welland Site this summer.
Identification of Bed Closures – As proposed in the Hospital Improvement Plan, bed closures are being pursued to achieve operational savings. Niagara Health is working collaboratively with all stakeholders, including the LHIN, to facilitate effective and efficient patient flow as we implement these bed reductions.
Bed Changes – Staffing to Occupancy/Acuity Levels in Fort Erie and Port Colborne – Right now, over 50 per cent of the inpatients at these two sites require a different kind of care than acute hospital care. These Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients are no longer acutely ill but are not well enough to be discharged to another type of care such as palliative care or slowpaced recovery. Many are waiting for placement in a long-term care or retirement facility. By July 6, the staffing mix for 53 acutecare beds at Douglas Memorial (25) and Port Colborne sites (28) will change to meet the care needs of these patients.
Emergency Program
Urgent Care Centres – By July 6, the staff at the Emergency Department at Port Colborne Site will be providing care as a 24-hour Urgent Care Centre. The major change resulting from this conversion is that ambulances will no longer come to this site. A major communications effort is being launched to provide much-needed public information to area residents, to ensure people go to the right location for the right care and call 911 for emergency care when appropriate. Niagara Health is working closely with Niagara Emergency Medical Services and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to transition this service. On Sept. 28, the same conversion at Douglas Memorial Site is scheduled.
Longer Term Planning
These programs – Maternal/Child, Mental Health and Addiction Management – are all reviewing the feasibility of consolidating services before 2013. No decisions have been made. Stay tuned for more details. «
Working towards an integrated transit system in Niagara
A regional transit system has been long-awaited in Niagara and will become a more important requirement in the next few years from a number of perspectives, including economic development, employment, education and healthcare. The NHS is actively participating at various discussion tables with regional partners and other stakeholders.
Currently, Niagara residents use different modes of transportation to access a variety of hospital-based services:
Surgical Appointments and Outpatient Clinic Visits – These are pre-booked appointments at an NHS site. Residents use a variety of transportation methods, including Niagara Specialized Transit, taxi, municipal bus, self/family vehicle.
Inpatient Transfers – This refers to site-to-site transfers of inpatients for their ongoing care or for diagnostic tests or procedures only available at another site. This transportation is provided by the NHS using contracted service providers.
Emergency Transportation – Residents calling 911 receive paramedic treatment and ambulance transportation to the appropriate Emergency Department by Niagara Emergency Medical Services. As well, inpatients and emergency cases are transferred to an NHS site or hospital outside Niagara as required by ambulance.
Niagara Health is committed to playing a key role with local partners to promote and advocate for a regional public transit system as well as improve the awareness of inter-transportation options that are currently available to our patients and their families – Niagara Specialized Transit, inter-municipal bus service and volunteer and publicly funded transportation options. «
