Waterloo Wellington residents received some of the most efficient and highest quality care in the province according to data released on Nov. 30 by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Waterloo Wellington ranked first in the province with the least amount of time spent in the emergency department waiting for an inpatient hospital bed, which means the sickest patients are getting the care they need the fastest.
It also means patients are flowing through the health system effectively, allowing new patients in need to access quick hospital care.
“That we have been able to accomplish such significant flow improvements in our health system speaks volumes about the dedication and commitment of health care staff throughout our hospitals and in the community,” said Dr. Ian Digby, emergency department physician lead for the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Department (LHIN) “This is a great accomplishment and we are committed to continuing to enhance emergency care for local residents.”
Waterloo Wellington also ranked first for the hospital standardized mortality ratio metric (comparing expected hospital deaths with actual hospital deaths). This is an important measure of patient safety in hospitals and one that has improved significantly over the past number of years.
Waterloo Wellington long-term care homes also ranked first for the lowest use of antipsychotic medications. This is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of the clinicians and staff in in local long-term care homes, officials state.
While these rankings are good for residents benefitting from timely and safe care, the data also showed a number of areas for improvement in the health system.
For example, the wait time for an initial assessment by a doctor in area emergency departments. Work is already underway to improve this, including: recruiting more physicians to provide care in area emergency departments, the use of more effective triage practices to best determine where patients need to receive care, and the use of more efficient processes to produce timelier lab and diagnostic tests that help to determine the right care, faster.
Another area identified for improvement was in the mood and functioning of residents in long-term care. More residents are living at home longer through increased access to home and community care.
As a result, they are arriving at long-term care older and with more complex health issues.
To improve care for local long-term care residents, the Waterloo Wellington LHIN has invested additional funding in long-term care.
