Richmond Hill/Vaughan, ON – Reducing wait times is a top priority at Mackenzie Health and the hospital is now among the province’s top performers – meeting and exceeding provincial wait time targets in a wide variety of areas from cancer and orthopedic surgery to emergency, MRI and CT.
Across the hospital, Mackenzie Health is meeting or exceeding provincial wait time targets for vital healthcare services. In addition to providing care in shorter times than expected, many of these wait time reductions have occurred while the number of our patients is increasing which makes our improvements even more remarkable.
Since 39% of our patients come from Richmond Hill and 40% from Vaughan, people from across Southwest York Region are benefitting from shorter wait times. Mackenzie Health continues to work hard to provide timely care to a growing population.
Cancer and Orthopedic Surgeries
Our wait times for a number of cancer and orthopedic surgeries are among the best in the Province. For example, our wait time of 35 days for genitourinary cancer surgery is among the ten best in the province. Moreover, our wait time of 26 days for patients requiring breast cancer surgery is well below the provincial target of 84 days.
In addition, our wait times for a variety of orthopedic surgeries, including shoulder, spine and tibia are significantly better than the provincial targets and among the top ten province-wide. We also continue to perform well for a variety of general surgeries.
Emergency Department
Mackenzie Health continues to make progress reducing wait times in our Emergency Department (ED). For patients who don’t need to be admitted, our wait times at 3.7 hours are better than provincial wait time targets of 4.0 hours. While there are opportunities for improvement for patients with serious conditions who need to be admitted, so far in 2012 we have made considerable progress and have reduced these wait times by 42% (as of August 2012). Moreover, our ED saw an additional 500 patients in August compared to January 2012.
To further improve wait times in Emergency, we continue to identify ways to optimize our discharge process to enhance patient flow in this busy department. We also continue to utilize short-stay beds, which help to reduce the time patients spend waiting in the Emergency Department and allows testing and treatment to begin much sooner. These improvements allow patients to receive the right care, at the right time.
Medical Imaging
In our Medical Imaging Department, wait times for important diagnostic tests have decreased significantly. For example, wait times for MRI scans have been reduced by 56% while the number of patients seen increased by 47%. Wait times for ultrasound decreased by 70% with the number of patients seen increasing by 20%.
All of these improvements are the result of a wide variety of initiatives. The team in Medical Imaging reviewed patient satisfaction scores and identified areas for improvement. They also established a three year strategy which enabled everyone to focus on the same goals. By developing a plan to achieve better results and having a team in place to achieve the results, patients at Mackenzie Health are now benefitting by receiving important test results sooner.
Quotes
“By making shorter wait times a top, organization-wide priority, we’ve been able to harness the strength and talent of our entire healthcare team and make progress towards our goals. Thanks to these efforts, patients at Mackenzie Health can expect shorter wait times for many of our services,” says Jo-anne Marr, Vice-President Patient Services and Chief Nurse Executive, Mackenzie Health.
“Central LHIN wishes to acknowledge the outcomes of the efforts of the nurses, clinicians and leadership of Mackenzie Health and their continued focus on system level priorities that improves access to people who receive care in Central LHIN. We are proud of the progress that’s being made and we will continue to work collaboratively with our health service providers to attain positive results in the future,” says Kim Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Central LHIN.
“I am very pleased with the significant improvements Mackenzie Health has made in reducing our wait times. While there is still more to achieve, this is a great example of how our staff and physicians are working hard to create a world-class healthcare experience,” says Altaf Stationwala, President and CEO, Mackenzie Health.
About Mackenzie Health
- Mackenzie Health is a new major regional healthcare provider for Southwest York
- Region and will include two hospital sites –the existing Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital (formerly known as York Central Hospital) and the future Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital.
- Both Mackenzie Health hospitals will offer core services. Specialized services will be distributed based on community needs and most appropriate location.
- Southwest York Region is one of the fastest growing and most diverse communities in Canada.
- Includes Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, a 506-bed hospital located in one of Canada’s fastest growing communities
- Over 85,000 visits annually to its Emergency Department
- Serves more than 500,000 people in Southwest York Region and beyond
Wait Time Highlights (Apr, May, June 2012)
Patient Service |
Mackenzie Health Wait Time |
Provincial Wait Time Average |
Provincial Clinical Wait Time Target |
Cancer Surgery |
|||
Genitourinary Cancer Surgery* |
35 days |
62 days |
84 days |
Breast Cancer Surgery |
26 days |
34 days |
84 days |
Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery |
31 days |
38 days |
84 days |
Orthopedic Surgery |
|||
Orthopedic Spine Surgery* |
81 days |
218 days |
182 days |
Orthopedic Shoulder Surgery* |
75 days |
199 days |
182 days |
Orthopedic Tibia Surgery* |
174 days |
355 days |
182 days |
Forefoot Surgery |
147 days |
338 days |
182 days |
Knee Replacement Surgery |
169 days |
227 days |
182 days |
Other Surgery |
|||
Sino-Nasal Surgery* |
85 days |
176 days |
182 days |
Peripheral Nerve Surgery* |
83 days |
150 days |
182 days |
Vascular Fistula Surgery* |
34 days |
65 days |
182 days |
Skin and Structures Surgery* |
38 days |
90 days |
182 days |
Thyroid Surgery* |
119 days |
210 days |
182 days |
Endometrial Ablation |
77 days |
125 days |
182 days |
Hernia–Abdominal Wall Surgery |
104 days |
142 days |
182 days |
Hernia-Groin Surgery |
102 days |
116 days |
182 days |
Medical Imaging |
|||
CT Scan |
22 days |
37 days |
28 days |
MRI Scan |
46 days |
86 days |
28 days |
*Indicates among top ten performers in Province
Above information available from Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care website
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Media Contacts
Melina Cormier
Chief, Communications and Public Affairs
Tel: 905-883-1212 ext. 7492
E-mail: melina.cormier@mackenziehealth.ca
Elizabeth Barnett
Communications Consultant
Tel: 905-883-1212 ext. 7490
Email: elizabeth.barnett@mackenziehealth.ca