Today the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care presented her Year Two Progress Report on achievements in implementing Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care. The key piece for AFHTO members is the second of the Plan’s three goals – Faster access and a stronger link to family health care. The Minister’s presentation to the Empire Club in Toronto included a brief video on Health Links which clearly puts the patient and his/her primary care provider at the centre of improving care for high-needs patients. It is this message that AFHTO continues to press with our political and health care leaders – the evidence of the value of comprehensive interprofessional primary care, its impact on outcomes and total cost of care for patients, and the need for sufficient funding to support recruitment and retention of the staff required to deliver this value. In her speech the Minister signaled there would be announcements soon concerning remuneration and working conditions for personal support workers, who typically make minimum wage and face uncertain hours. It is too soon to tell what funding may be available in the next fiscal for FHTs, NPLCs and other interprofessional primary care models, but we do know that the issues and challenges have been clearly understood.
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