R E P R T - St. Catharines General Hospital Foundation

NHS responds to
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
about the Hospital Improvement Plan
On December 16, 2008, the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) Local Health Integration
Network (LHIN) approved the Niagara Health System’s (NHS) Hospital Improvement Plan (HIP).
The HIP is a clinical services plan that looks to improve the delivery of quality of patient care and
at the same time achieve cost savings. The details of the HIP will be implemented over the next
five years. Some of the key changes include creating ten centres of excellence for specialized care
across the region.
Q: Is the Hospital Improvement Plan only about saving money?
A: No. The Plan is about providing the health care Niagara needs and deserves in a way that is
sustainable. By consolidating services and creating centres of excellence, we can use our health
professionals, facility, equipment, technological and financial resources to our fullest ability to
care for more patients and provide better care. As part of this plan we will need to work with
other healthcare providers and the LHIN to deal with the shortage of primary care as well as
supportive housing.
Q: How will this Plan change patient care services?
A: Patient care will be improved on a number of levels. There are several major
recommendations to help Niagarans in a number of ways, such as:
Manage chronic disease like diabetes or asthma while living at home,
Offer more services for the elderly,
Provide better services for people with addictions and mental health issues,
Enhance our stroke program by having dedicated inpatient beds,
Improve our surgical services by creating Centres of Excellence for various specialties such as
Urology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, etc.
The list goes on and is identified in detail in the Plan. The bottom line is that these
recommendations will bring major improvements to patient care in Niagara. Our goal is to
provide the right care at the right time in the right place. This plan will do that.
Q: Doesn’t this plan raise more questions than provide answers?
A: In any plan of this scope, there will be some questions that require more discussion
especially during the implementation phase. In this plan, we have a road map that will get us
from where we are today to a position where we can improve the quality of hospital care for
every resident of Niagara, attract new doctors and nurses to the region and ensure that we can
provide sustainable hospital care for our children and grandchildren
Q: What is all this talk about one ‘super hospital’ for Niagara – why
isn’t this being done?
A: We do not support the concept of one single super hospital for Niagara. One hospital for
Niagara does not balance the need for specialization and concentration of services versus the
need for emergency, surgery, and dialysis care closer to home. One hospital in Niagara does not
allow for back-up services in case of emergencies such as a fire in the hospital or an infectious
outbreak such as SARS.
Q: Why won’t you reconsider building the new health-care complex
planned in St. Catharines on available land at the intersection of
Highways 406 and 20 to be more accessible for all Niagarans?
A: A very detailed selection process was undertaken to select the parcel of land to build the
new health-care complex. Over 20 parcels of land were assessed, including land at Highways
406 and 20. The location at First Street and Fourth Avenue in west St. Catharines met all of the
criteria including: size of property, transit access, proximity to roads such as Highway 406, QEW,
St. Paul St and 4th/Welland Ave, compliance with official plan, ease of site services, proximity to
Hamilton and central location in Niagara.
We cannot build the new regional services – the cancer centre, cardiac catheterization and
specialty mental health beds – as stand-alone regional services in the middle of Niagara. All of
these services need to be located with an acute care community hospital.
Q: Why does the HIP call for the creation of one centre of excellence
for maternity services?
A: There are a number of reasons why. Firstly, the number of births in Niagara is declining as
our population ages. International research studies show that there should be more then 2,000
births in a single maternity or obstetrics department to ensure that risks to mother and baby are
kept to a minimum. At this time NHS runs three obstetrical units - one in Niagara Falls, one in
Welland and one at the St. Catharines General site.
Q: Why can’t we have birthing centres, rather than full-service
maternity units in all three cities? They don’t need to be as hightech.
A: A major factor driving the recommendation to create a centre of excellence is the increasing
shortage of both specialized physicians and nurses to staff our three programs 24 hours per day.
One of the main issues in continuing to have three obstetrics departments is the difficulty in
staffing the units. Whether we provide birthing centres or full-services obstetrical programs, we
still need RNs and RPNs staffing the departments with mid-wives, and physician specialists
providing back-up. The average age of our specialists is now 57, and we simply won’t have
enough staff to sustain three separate units in the future.
Q: What if my child gets sick? Do I have to go to the new
St. Catharines hospital?
A: No. All NHS Emergency Departments and 14-hour Prompt Care Centres will continue to
provide assessment and treatment services for infants, children and teenagers.
Q: How is this Plan better for patients in NHS hospitals?
A: Evidence and best practices in patient care show that patient outcomes actually improve
when services are combined and Centres of Excellence are created. By treating more patients,
doctors and nurses can focus and hone their skills. More specialists can be attracted and the
technology will be there to support the most up-to-date procedures.
Page 2 | Winter 2009 | www.scghfoundation.com
Letters From Grateful Patients
Dear SCGH Foundation,
"Sometimes, one has to be fair.”
In June, I had to rush to the hospital with a nasty "Atrial Fibrillation"
episode. I was admitted right away and was looked after by Dr. Shank and
a number of nurses. Everyone was pleasant and efficient.
Throughout the night Dr. Shank was very attentive, administering a
number of tests, along with a drug that I had never received before. Within
hours, my condition started to improve.
Let's not say that patients are not looked after with kindness and
competence. I am very grateful to the entire staff that took care of me
including the triage nurse, because of the efficiency of the SCG hospital
and the availability of drugs to help with my recurring problem.
Mrs. Emilienne (Mimi) Massuet
Dear SCGH Foundation,
Sadly, on this past Saturday night I suffered a miscarriage and ended up in
the care of the General's ER department. From the moment I arrived until
we left we were treated with care, concern and respect.
Thankfully I have not personally had the need for an emergency room since
I was 6, so I was unsure what kind of experience I would have. However,
everyone I encountered from the very nice lady in Emergency Registration
(who remembered me the next day too), to the nurses, the doctor, and
even the housekeeping staff were all wonderful, and I felt that they
deserved a heartfelt thank you from someone who truly appreciated their
care. In a sad hour of my life I felt fortunate to have encountered such
caring individuals and will always remember their kindness.
I also wish to add that Dr. Dobosiewicz is such an asset to the hospital. He
is my obstetrician and through this situation he too has been wonderful
and helpful. The St. Catharines General has, in my opinion, a great staff of
people who care, and that is beyond measure in this world.
So please again send along my thanks to all, and wish everyone a happy
and healthy Holiday.
Claire Gregory
Dr. Peter McMain Retires
50 year career in Paediatric Medicine
Submitted by Sharon Phair, RN
In August, the staff of the Maternal Child and Family Care Unit hosted a small
luncheon in honour of Dr. McMain's long standing presence on the Obstetric
and Paediatric wards of the St. Catharines General.
As always, even though it was a surprise reception, he was able to capture the
moment to share some of his observations over the years. The changes have
been many; but always at the center of his work has been the well being of his
paediatric patients.
One nurse recalled her own child's first encounter with Dr. McMain. She
entered the office and there was no one at the reception desk. As she
approached the desk, a little Beaver hand puppet popped up and began talking
to her son. It pulled up a small doctor's bag and encouraged him to look inside
and touch the equipment. Then Dr. McMain appeared. She recalls from then
on her son had no fear of doctors and she was very appreciative of his care of
her son.
The MCFC staff have made a donation to The SCGH Foundation’s Wall of Hope
as a permanent recognition of Dr. McMain’s work. On behalf of the staff, we
wish Dr. McMain all the best as he enters the next chapter of his life.
Dr. McMain enjoys a retirement celebration with the staff & volunteers
of the Maternal Child & Family Care Unit.