Health News
Paper urges reforms to improve access to community-based patient care
Oct. 22, 2014 – The Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres (OACCAC) is calling for changes to improve patient care and make greater use of CCACs' proven ability to increase patient access, provide safe, high-quality care and deliver better value for public dollars.
October 22, 2014 By CNW Group
The OACCAC, whose members provided home and community care to 700,000
patients in 2013/2014, makes the case for change in a white paper called
Making Way for Change: Transforming Home and Community Care for
Ontarians, which was released today.
Since
1997, CCACs have delivered affordable, high-quality services and
supports to people who need help and health care at home. No matter
where people live in Ontario, CCACs give them a single point of access
to home and community care and placement into long-term care homes and
other living supports. The number of people cared for through CCACs has
increased 101 per cent since 2003/2004, and the number of patients with
high needs and requirements for long-term support has grown 73 per cent
since 2009/2010.
To better meet the diverse and evolving needs of
Ontario patients and caregivers, OACCAC’s white paper recommends
changes to create a more flexible and streamlined system of home and
community care supported by up-to-date laws, with regional funding
better allocated and aligned to local patient care needs.
The
recommendations in Making Way for Change call for action in four areas:
• Create flexible, adaptable home-care service models that recognize and respond to the unique needs of patients
•
Stabilize sector funding to ensure more equitable, evidence-based and
predictable funding decisions that support better patient care
•
Strengthen province-wide and regional health system capacity planning
and ensure that future home and community care needs are built into
long-term planning
• Introduce a modern, patient-centred legislative framework for home and community care
"Home
and community care is at a crossroads," said OACCAC CEO Catherine
Brown. "Important work lies ahead for CCACs and health partners.
Together we can make changes to improve the system so it responds better
to patients’ needs, while maximizing limited resources. The goal is to
provide more Ontarians with accessible, integrated and sustainable care
where they want it – at home."
With a growing focus on the
importance of home and community care, CCACs want to put their
experience and knowledge to use, lead a dialogue and undertake the hard
work – together with government, health system partners, patients and
caregivers – to deliver change that provides greater value to Ontarians.
"We
know the public relies on a strong, stable and integrated home and
community sector that puts patients’ needs first," said OACCAC board
chair Sandra Coleman. "CCACs take very seriously their responsibility
for delivering the highest-quality care to patients and achieving value
for government investment. CCACs are ready and eager to drive innovative
improvements to make home and community care the best it can be for
Ontario patients."
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