Health and Social Services Minister Jamie Ballem announced a restructuring plan for the Health and Social Services System today which will bring the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Prince County Hospital, Hillsborough Hospital and the Provincial Addictions Centre together under a new Provincial Health Services Authority, and amalgamate the two Kings County Health Regions into one new Kings Health Region.
"Essentially, the restructuring is about realigning primary and secondary services to support clear provincial and regional roles and responsibilities," said the minister. "All Regions will now have a consistent mandate to plan and deliver primary services for their citizens which prevent, reduce and manage illness. The Provincial Health Services Authority will be responsible for the planning and delivery of more specialized acute and secondary services which are accessed by all Islanders," said the minister. "The new structure supports the distinct roles of various services, whether that role is to provide primary services in the community such as family physician services, home care, or community mental health, or to provide more specialized secondary services such as CT scanning or surgery."
The restructuring plan includes four components.
The Provincial Health Services Authority will be established to plan and deliver secondary acute services, including most services now delivered by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Prince County Hospital, Hillsborough Hospital, and the Provincial Addictions Centre.
The Southern Kings and Eastern Kings Regions will be amalgamated under a new Kings Health Region to create a more balanced regional system, in terms of geography, people served, and administrative costs.
All four Regions will be given the same clear mandate to plan and deliver primary health and social services in their regions.
Finally, the Environmental Health Unit will be transferred from the Queens Region to the Department of Health and Social Services to improve coordination of these provincial regulatory services.
Minister Ballem advised that the restructuring will build on the excellent progress made by the Regions to coordinate service delivery and improve the health of Islanders. "Further improvements are needed to ensure the sustainability of our Health System. We must respond to new challenges and opportunities, new knowledge, new technologies, and a new understanding of how to improve the health of the population. The new structure will support the effective implementation of the strategies outlined in our strategic plan to improve wellness, accountability and sustainability."
The new Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) is expected to be in place by November 1. It will be led by a single management team. A new Provincial Health Services Advisory Board will include representatives of each of the Regional Boards to ensure good coordination between provincial and regional services.
Most staff and salaried physicians of the four facilities will become employees of the new PHSA. Union affiliations will not be affected. Each facility will retain their own identity, and the Foundations will not be impacted. Most changes will happen at the administrative level. Front line staff and the public will see little change in operations.
"By bringing the two larger hospitals and other provincial services out of the two larger regions and under one provincial organization, opportunities will be created to improve planning, quality and access to these specialized services," said the minister. "The new structure will enable the facilities to work together in several key areas such as human resource planning, utilization management, and quality measurement and control."
The transition process to establish the new Kings Health Region will be completed by October 1. The Region will be led by a single management team under the leadership of Betty Fraser, who is now CEO of Southern Kings Health.
Board membership will remain unchanged until the new Board is established as part of the regular board election and appointment process in November.
All staff and salaried physicians of Southern Kings and Eastern Kings Health Regions will become employees of Kings Health Region. Changes will occur at the administrative level. Front line staff, physicians and the public will not be impacted by the change.
"The new region will be more proportionate to the other regions, and with a stronger resource base, there should also be added opportunities to improve planning and effectiveness," said Minister Ballem.
The Environmental Health Unit, now managed by the Queens Health Region will be transferred to the Department of Health and Social Services by July 1. This will improve coordination of these regulatory services with the Chief Health Officer.
The restructuring process will be coordinated by two transition teams, one for the new Provincial Health Services Authority and one for the new Kings Health Region.
BACKGROUNDER
The Restructuring Plan
The Health and Social Services System is being restructured to support the implementation of the strategic plan. The new structure will strengthen the role of the Regions to plan and deliver primary services that prevent, and reduce and manage illness.
It will bring the two secondary hospitals and provincial services together under one organization to improve planning, quality and access to these specialized services. The Southern Kings and Eastern Kings Regions will be brought together under a new Kings Health Region to create a more balanced regional system. The Environmental Health Unit will be transferred to the Department of Health and Social Services to improve coordination of these services.
Four Components of the Restructuring Plan
• Establish a Provincial Health Services Authority responsible for provincial secondary acute and specialized services
• Establish a clear and consistent role for all Health Regions to plan and deliver primary health and social services which promote health and reduce illness
• Establish a new Kings Health Region and a more balanced regional system
• Transfer the Environmental Health Unit to the Department of Health and Social Services
New Structures to Support Strategic Goals
Over the years, the Regions have made excellent progress to integrate services and improve health. The restructuring plan will build on this success by enabling further improvements to improve the sustainability of the system.
The new structure will support the system to respond to new challenges and opportunities, new knowledge, new technologies, and a greater understanding of how to improve the health of the population through the implementation of the strategies outlined in the strategic plan.
Provincial Health Services Authority
The new Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) will be responsible for most services now delivered by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Prince County Hospital, Hillsborough Hospital, and the Provincial Addictions Centre.
It will be led by a single management team. A new Provincial Health Services Advisory Board will include representatives of each of the four Regional Boards to ensure good coordination between provincial and regional services.
Most staff and salaried physicians of the four facilities will become PHSA employees. Union affiliations will not be affected. Each facility will retain their own identity. Foundations will not be impacted. The restructuring will occur at the administrative level. Front line staff and the public will see little change in operations.
The transition process will be complete in November 2002. The Transition Team, which will include Queens Region CEO Sylvia Barron, East Prince CEO David Riley, Deputy Minister Rory Francis, and the new PHSA CEO who is now being recruited. Transition Working Groups will be established in several areas.
Kings Health Region
The new Kings Health Region will be responsible for those services now provided by the Southern Kings and Eastern Kings Health Regions. The new region will be more proportionate to other regions, in terms of people served and administrative costs.
A single management team will be created under the leadership of Betty Fraser, who is now CEO of Southern Kings Health. Board membership will remain unchanged until the new Board is established as part of the regular board election and appointment process in November. All staff and salaried physicians of the Southern Kings and Eastern Kings Regions will become employees of the new Kings Health Region. Changes will occur at the administrative level. Front line staff, physicians and the public will not be impacted. The transition process will be complete by October 1.
Clear and Consistent Roles for All Regions
The new structure will support clear and consistent roles for all Regions and create a more balanced regional system. By bringing secondary provincial services out of the two larger regions, each region will now focus on the planning and delivery of primary health and social services for the people in their regions. The new structure supports the distinct roles of primary services which prevent, reduce and manage illness; and secondary services which treat more complex conditions using specialized resources, usually in institutions. The restructuring will in effect, create a more balanced playing field for the Regions, and enable them to strengthen their focus on wellness, and services which improve health and reduce the need for secondary care.
Transfer of Environmental Health
The Environmental Health Unit, now managed by the Queens Health Region will be transferred to the Department of Health and Social Services. This will improve coordination of these regulatory services with the Chief Health Officer. The transfer will be complete by July 1, 2002.