THUNDER BAY – Members of the district board of health have concerns about plans from the provincial government to streamline health-care services.
As part of their Patients First report unveiled in December, the Ontario Ministry of Health is proposing strengthening the 14 Local Health Integration Networks across the province, which would include linking public health services, such as the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, to the LHINs.
At their Wednesday afternoon meeting, the Thunder Bay District Board of Health discussed the concept of grouping public health with the rest of the health-care sector and the resulting fears that some existing health units could be eliminated or that it could diminish the role of public health.
“I think there are lots of potential advantages to such a relationship and such a linkage and it’s been shown when it’s looked at other jurisdictions that there can be benefits,” medical officer of health Janet DeMille said.
“However, there’s a downside that public health is a small component of the overall health budget and the needs of the illness care system, when people are actually ill and need treatment, that’s typically more urgent and more expensive and so there’s a risk or concern linking public health with an illness care focus could result in the erosion of funding or human resources.”
The report found the overall health-care system is often fragmented in planning and delivering services, with public health services disconnected from the rest of the sector.
The proposal concludes enhancing the mandate of the LHINs and formally linking them to public health services will increase access across the system.
Currently, public health agencies such as the Thunder Bay District Health Unit receive funding directly from the Ministry of Health and are not at the discretion of the LHIN.
The uncertainty about the details of the potential link, and the perception the government is going ahead with the integration and determining the details later, is not sitting well with some members of the board.
Board chair Joe Virdiramo, who is also a Thunder Bay city councilor, said government communication has indicated the board’s mandate would not change though the structure of the integration has not been disclosed.
“Our information states nothing would be impacted by that in relation to the work the health unit boards do,” Virdiramo said.
“However there is a fear from the municipal sector and some of our members, that our role and responsibility will be eroded. We don’t actually know what the government is thinking.”
Many of the board members, who are also municipal representatives from communities in the surrounding area, described an “angst” and unease while awaiting the details of the plan.
Public health primarily focuses on community outreach and offering programs and services that contribute to prevention and keeping people out of the health-care system.
Going forward, DeMille would like to see engagement from the ministry with public health units and the entire health-care system. Submissions have already been made in response to the Patients First document with an expert panel expected to convene in the coming months to review the feedback.
“If it’s done right and the proper measures are put in place to protect public health funding and to protect the public health mandate it can actually be quite beneficial,” she said. “It’s just articulating what those measures are and getting them in place.”
