This spring, the provincial government passed the Peoples Health Care Act, which called for the creation of 31 Ontario Health Teams to deliver healthcare to local areas.
The Peterborough Health Team is made up of 22 partners representing groups offering primary and acute care, paramedicine and mental health and addiction services. Team leader Brenda Weir told members of county council Wednesday that having such partners on the team would bring efficiencies to the health care system
“There may be one patient in a family that has three different service providers, providing them care,” Weir said.
“So you may have service providers going all over different geography and they spend most of their time travelling instead of providing direct patient care.”
Each health team will be responsible for 300,000 patients in their area. Members of council, noting that Peterborough City and County have somewhere around 100,000 potential patients, wondered how the difference would be made up to fill that requirement.
Weir said the area has been offering services to residents in surrounding areas for years, so making up the official numbers shouldn’t be difficult.
“Some of our programming, mental health in particular, serves the four counties, and the sub specialties at the hospital, cardiac care, our diaylsis program, already support the four counties,” Weir said.
The Peterborough Health Team will know later in the fall whether or not they are going to be move forward to be granted official status.
WATCH: (Aug. 19, 2019) Peterborough officials respond to looming municipal funding cuts