The CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital is welcoming the new health teams being set up in Ontario.
David Musyj said the health teams will make the health care system better because it will be less complicated for patients to navigate. He said consolidating the system, saving money and reinvesting that money into the frontlines is the way to go.
"We all know what we have now is not working. Keep telling yourself it's working, it's not. So, how can we make it better," said Musyj.
In February, the provincial government announced Ontario Health Teams that will work under a new super health agency and replace Local Health Integration Networks across the province.
The Ford government said the idea is to end hallway medicine and bring healthcare providers together in a way the current system does not.
Musyj said making the system more seamless is the right thing to do but trust between all of the agencies is going to be key moving forward.
"Looking forward to this, I think it's going to be very interesting and very exciting and from a patient's lens, if we can make it easier for them that's the goal here," he added.
Musyj said there are many lessons to learn along the way and hopes it doesn't lead to a multi-tier healthcare system.
"The U.K., it does have that eventual move towards that, but if it does go that way, it's going to be years out," Musyj said.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said over the past five years, Ontario’s administrative health costs have risen 30 per cent over the Canadian average, while more than 1,000 patients languish in hospital hallways every day. She added average wait times to get into a long-term care home have ballooned by 300 per cent since 2003.
