Faster Care For Ontario's Youngest Patients
McGuinty Government Reducing Wait Times For Kids
September 19, 2008
NEWS
London will receive $480,500 to reduce wait times and improve access to key paediatric services, Deb Matthews, MPP for London North Centre announced today on behalf of her colleagues Khalil Ramal, MPP for London-Fanshawe and Chris Bentley, MPP for London West.
A number of paediatric surgical procedures were assigned priority status to reduce significant wait times. As a result, through Southwest LHIN, the London Health Sciences Centre will receive dedicated funding this year for 164 additional cases of dental, orthopaedic, urology, otolaryngology and plastic surgeries.
While the Paediatric Wait Time Strategy focuses on these priorities immediately, the overall agenda is to improve access to timely, high-quality paediatric health care services for all children in Ontario.
Since April/May 2006 paediatric wait times for all paediatric surgical services have decreased approximately 17 per cent from 273 days to 226 days.
QUOTES
“This funding demonstrates our government’s commitment to reducing wait times for kids in London,” said MPP Deb Matthews. “Making sure that more children have access to these key paediatric surgeries helps ensure their healthy development so that they can get back to the important work of being kids faster.”
“Improving access to programs and services and decreasing wait times is a priority for the South West Local Health Integration Network,” said Kelly Gillis, Senior Director of Planning, Integration and Community Engagement. “We welcome this funding and the impact it will have on improving services for expectant mothers and their children.”
"As the result of the coordinated efforts of the provincial council on children's health and the surgical wait list committee and the collaboration among the academic paediatric hospitals and community hospitals that provide paediatric surgery, we arrived upon a distribution of cases for surgical specialties that will benefit children all over the province,” said Cliff Nordal, President & CEO, London Health Sciences Centre. “Dr. Kellie Leitch, Chief, Paediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital has been instrumental in assuring that the needs of children in our region are being met. For South West Ontario children, this funding will be very beneficial."
QUICK FACTS
Since March 2006, provincial paediatric wait times have experienced significant reductions in Ophthalmology (eyes), Dental, Otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), and Orthopaedic (bone and joint) wait times at specific institutions across the province between March 2006 and April 2008. For example: