The Champlain LHIN is "Rethinking Healthcare". But maybe we should rethink the rethinkers.

The Champlain LHIN is "Rethinking Healthcare". And it's pretty scary.

For populations of 50,000 to 100,000, the LHIN suggests that ‘polyclinics’ (like the new ‘Orleans Family Health Hub’) could be a substitute for local hospitals. In fact the document specifically promotes polyclinics for urban and suburban settings. And whether it is a hospital or a polyclinic, facilities for these communities should not do surgeries requiring overnight stays, but rather be limited only to day surgeries.

The thinkers at the Champlain LHIN also opine that "So much of what a hospital does could be done anywhere". So strip malls would provide dialysis and primary care facilities (doctor’s offices and the like) would provide Urgent Care.

Hey Dude, where's my ER?

Some distance away, it seems. Only "District Hospitals" serving 100,000 to 200,000 people would get to keep their emergency rooms. And they could be an hour away. (I think you can pretty much drive from one end of the Champlain LHIN to the other in an hour!)

So, the attack on the hospitals continues…

Still, I guess we should thank this LHIN for being a little more open about their thinking. I'm not so sure that's true elsewhere....

You can read the all the gory details at Rethinking Healthcare for the 21st Century

dallan@cupe.ca

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