New report says roughly 1,000 patients are in hospital hallways each day

A new report by Ontario’s special adviser on health care says that on any given day, there is roughly 1,000 patients being treated in hospital hallways.

Dr. Rueben Devlin and the premier’s council on improving health care says hallway medicine is a significant problem in Ontario.

The report characterizes the health-care system as decentralized, large, siloed and says it can be difficult at times to know who is responsible and accountable for ensuring Ontarians have access to high-value health care.

It suggests the size of the system is contributing to the issue. There are currently 21 health-related government agencies supporting the design and delivery of health care in Ontario. Many of these agencies were created to tackle specific problems, support research, or to establish quality standards and metrics to help the system as it matured. The report claims the agencies are not always well-aligned and there is limited strategic oversight to ensure the efficient and coordinated use of resources.

Recent media reports have said Ford’s government is considering shutting down the agencies and folding them into one super agency.

The next report is set to contain detailed recommendations that will address four main themes identified in the first report. A pressing need to integrate care around the patient and across providers in a way that makes sense in each of our communities in the province, and improves health outcomes for Ontarians; growing demand and opportunity to innovate in care delivery, particularly in the use of virtual care, apps, and ensuring patients can access their own health data; and the potential for greater efficiency in how we streamline and align system goals to support high quality care; the critical role for a long-term plan so that we have right mix of health care professionals, services, and beds to meet our changing health care needs.