Community News
Brampton and Etobicoke will be home to one of the province’s first Ontario health teams
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
“I had to sit down in the hallway in a wheelchair for hours in order to be seen. When it came time for my results, they didn’t even have a room to tell me in privately. I had to hear about what was wrong with me in the middle of the hallway in front of everyone. When they gave me my IV, they didn’t have a pole to put the IV on. They took out IV in the middle of the hallway. They wanted to do it with me standing up, but I said no because I knew I was going to faint.”
I sat there a little shocked at what I was hearing. It was last December of 2019, and Trish Browning and I were talking about her experience with the William Osler Health System. It was interesting, because that afternoon, I had an interview with Dr. Naveed Mohammed, who happens to be the Executive Vice President of Quality, Medical and Academic affairs at William Osler Health System (Osler). That afternoon, our dialogue was going to be around the current health care system, and the massive changes that are about to occur.
A little background on William Osler Health System, it serves the city of Brampton and the western Toronto district of Etobicoke, which includes: Brampton Civic Hospital (BCH), and Etobicoke General Hospital. What Trish was telling me has become a reality for residents in Brampton and surrounding areas. Cara Francis and Donna Harris initially gave Toronto Caribbean Newspaper a call to discuss some of the challenges that the hospitals are facing in the GTA. They suggested that I speak with Dr. Naveed Mohammed. He would be able to update me on the future of our healthcare system. That interview stirred hope. Hope that at this time is needed.
The reality is, all hospitals are seeing a high volume of patients: admitted and emergency. The hospitals haven’t kept up with the population growth. This is scary, especially with the recent COVID-19 scare. As of Sunday, March 1st, 2020, the Ontario.ca website released the following updates on patients approved for COVID-19 testing to date:
- Negative = 739
- Currently under investigation = 22
- Presumptive positive = 1
- Confirmed positive = 3
- Resolved = 3
- (Number updated at 10:30 am each morning)
On February 28th, 2020 at 11:03 A.M. Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health confirmed a new positive case of COVID-19 in Toronto, which makes the seventh case in Ontario. After arriving in Toronto on February 25th, 2020, a man in his 50s presented himself at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre’s emergency department on February 26th, 2020 with a travel history to Iran.
The question the community might consider asking is, what is the government doing to make things better for our citizens, especially when it comes to health care? Not only during a pandemic, but when it comes to our day-to-day lives? This is the time of year that changes happen in the health care system. People start using hospitals more due to closures of walk-in clinics. Emergency rooms are full with overload. There is a strain on hospital systems.
On December 6th, 2019, the Ontario Government announced that the Brampton and Etobicoke would be home to one of the province’s first Ontario Health Teams (OHT). For the community, we can think about it like a central hub. Services available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and staffed by health care professionals. These professionals will be able to provide answers to the community about home care and social services available in the region. Imagine that; patients and caregivers will be able to connect with the health services they need with just one phone call.
Dr. Naveen Mohammed was candid during our interview. He knows the challenges that we all face, but he also offers some hope for the future.
“We have some of the lowest numbers of hospital beds in the country. We are dealing with an aging population; there is an increase in chronic diseases; we are admitting a lot of people, and there is an imbalance.”
“We have had to turn to unconventional healthcare practices. Hallway medicine is unpopular, but it is a reality in many hospitals. We do not want our patients there, but at the same time, we don’t want to send them home. It can make for a very anxious environment. Our professionals do their best to work with families through some of these anxieties.”
I thought back to my discussion with Trish. What he said seemed to match what she had told me. Dr. Mohammed continued, “New hospitals are built, but not enough to keep up with the demands of the community. As doctors and nurses, we try to treat everyone to the best of our ability. There is a strain, but despite this, our hospitals have some of the best wait times. We are not letting challenges stop us.”
“The Ontario Health Teams is being formed to give the community better access to specialists, physicians and nurse navigators. You’re talking about 24 organizations; 186 partners strategically building evidence-based care pathways to ensure an improved health care experience. It will be one network to care for patients. It will be integrated health care. When our patients leave the hospital, we won’t send them out and say bye! We set things up for them, including follow up appointments, and specialist visits.”
Dr. Mohammed strongly believes that if we can build this across the province, we won’t need to worry about more beds. The health care system will be structured so that they are working with patients before they get into that situation. “It will be the end of hallway health care,” Dr. Mohammed explained.
Members of Brampton and Etobicoke have a right to be hopeful. The Government is leading the development of and championing this new model for health care in the province. A system that will support the community and provide a more seamless, integrated health care for the community collectively.