About 1,000 patients waited for a hospital bed in an “unconventional space or emergency department stretcher” on an average day in Ontario last year, Premier Doug Ford’s top health-care adviser said in a report released Thursday.
The report, authoured by Dr. Ruebin Devlin, the chair of an advisory panel on health care and “hallway medicine,” released the first of a series of reports on the state of health care in the province on Thursday and found that many patients are “waiting too long for care” and have trouble navigating the province’s health-care system.
“Ontarians cannot always see their primary care provider when they need to, wait times for some procedures and access to specialists and community care are too long, and emergency department use is increasing,” the report read.
According to the report, over the past six years, emergency room visits have increased by 11 per cent to 5.9 million people in 2017/2018.
This is due, in part, to people not knowing how to access community services or waiting too long for those services, according to the report.
“Many people reach a crisis point that leads them to the emergency department,” the report read.
“These challenges with navigation and timely access contribute to the problem of hallway health care because the way patients move in and out of hospitals has a significant impact on the efficiency of the entire health-care system.”
The report states that patients in need of an inpatient bed spend, on average, 16 hours in the emergency room before a bed becomes available.
For insight into the patient experience in emergency departments, the panel heard from more than 340 patients. Many reported “uncomfortably low levels of privacy” at emergency departments. Some said they felt a “complete lack of dignity” when describing their medical history and personal stories to health-care providers in a hallway within earshot of other patients.
“For some people, even something that should be simple – like helping patients get to the washroom on time – was challenging under the current conditions,” the report read.
The report states that stress on caregivers and health-care providers is a “troubling indicator” that the health-care system is not working as it should.
“There are clear indications throughout the system of provider burnout, including staffing shortages in certain positions and parts of the province, and high levels of stress,” the report read.
“Solving hallway health care will not just be a matter of adding more beds to the system. Increasing capacity in the community, staffing levels, training, and support will play an important role in building a high-functioning system that works for all Ontarians – including the ones who work in health care.”
The report also identified concerns about patients who are unable to access mental health and addiction services in a timely fashion.
According to the report, about one in three adults who went to an emergency room for mental health and addiction treatments had not accessed physician-based care for their mental health issue.
Additionally, the report states that there was a 72 per cent increase in emergency department visits and a 79 per cent hike in in-patient admissions for children and youth with mental health challenges over the past 11 years.
“Most mental health and addictions issues are more appropriately treated in the community; however, long wait times for community treatment means sometimes patients’ conditions worsen as they sit in the queue, giving them no other option but to seek care through the emergency department, and return home to continue to wait for services,” the panel said.
As one of his central campaign promises, Ford vowed to tackle what he refers to as “hallway medicine.” Ford pays Devlin an annual salary of $348,000 to be the government’s adviser on health care transformation.
In a statement released Thursday, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said she “looks forward to reviewing the report’s findings.”
“Our Government for the People believes that everyone in Ontario deserves to have access to the services they need at home, in the community or at a hospital,” Elliott’s written statement read.
“That's why we're continuing to work with our partners in health care, including the Premier's Council on Improving Healthcare and Ending Hallway Medicine, as we develop our long-term health care strategy. We will continue to listen to patients, families and frontline providers, and we will create a health care system that works for the people of Ontario.”
Read the full report below:
