OrilliaMatters received the following letter from Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop in response to a recent open letter from Dennis Rizzo we published April 10 about concerns related to health-care spending.
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Thank you for contacting me about this vitally important matter. I always appreciate hearing from constituents.
Like yourself and millions of others in our province, I value our public health-care system that has kept my family and families across Simcoe North healthy for generations.
Over the past months, there has been a lot of misinformation being propagated about the government’s updates to our health-care system. I would like to use this opportunity to set the record straight.
As the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care has reminded us on numerous occasions, our government is committed to a public health-care system in Ontario. If it is helpful to repeat: we are committed to Ontario’s publically-funded health-care system.
The People’s Healthcare Act, introduced by Minister Christine Elliott this February, reorganizes our health system by redirecting funds to front-line services to improve patient experience and provide better and more connected care.
This legislation organizes health-care providers into coordinated teams that are focused on patients. In practical terms, these teams will provide 24/7 service to patients, seamlessly guiding them through the health-care system according to their needs.
These Ontario Health Teams will ensure that no patient will have to receive care in a hallway again and no Ontarian will be left to navigate between providers on their own.
Additionally, this legislation will consolidate a number of health-care agencies into a single agency - Ontario Health. This measure ensures a single centre of coordination that is accountable to the entire system.
We are breaking down the silos of care that have disoriented our health-care system for years. In their place will be a connected and integrated approach to care that treats the patient as a whole person with specialized needs.
This past week, the Minister of Finance announced that the Ontario Government is investing an additional $384 million in hospitals and an additional $267 million in home and community care.
In addition, the Ministry of Health has recently approved the construction of Westmount Lodge in Orillia which will add 160 new long-term care beds. The investments in local care are part of the government’s commitment to adding 15,000 long-term care beds in five years.
In short, we are investing more in order to create a more responsive and supportive healthcare system for Ontarians.
Let me respond to your specific concerns Mr. Rizzo.
First, under this legislation, families will continue to access reliable public healthcare through OHIP to receive their treatments.
Second, the highly connected nature of the Ontario Health will create a more efficient system and reduce wait-times for patients.
Finally, this plan continues and improves our great Ontario-tradition of publically-funded healthcare.
I hope this letter has resolved your concerns Mr. Rizzo. For far too long our public health-care system has been on life-support. We are taking the necessary actions to innovate and reform this ailing system.
By integrating and modernizing our health teams, the People’s Healthcare Act takes aim at ending hallway medicine and reducing wait-times.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide you and our community with these facts.
Jill Dunlop
MPP for Simcoe North
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