Friday, February 1, 2019

Scrapped LHINs: Change For The Sake of Change?

The government loves ribbon-cutting and making big announcements, but doesn’t like the work required to implement common-sense reforms in the healthcare sector.

While it may score political points to scrap Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs), we encourage the government to look deeper into the issue of healthcare reform.

eHealth was a boondoggle, but the province needs electronic patient records to improve information-sharing across all levels of care—from the family physicians to the homecare agencies, clinics, and hospitals. The colossal waste of money associated with eHealth didn’t happen because the move to electronic health records was a bad idea; it happened because the government failed to provide proper oversight and engagement with the project. They were off to the next shiny object, looking for positive media. Doing the hard work of ensuring project deadlines are met and budgets are kept is not glamorous.

Doug Ford’s government deems LHINs to be inefficient and costly—but are they going to put the work and attention required into improving the healthcare system, or are they going to change for the sake of change and move on to the next shiny object?

The status quo in healthcare is not an option, but we need well-thought through, comprehensive plans on how to improve the system. The government needs to commit the time, energy, and resources into ensuring these changes are in the best interest of the people of Ontario—and not just change for the sake of change.

Scrapped LHINs: Change For The Sake of Change?

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