Internal memos reveal that ‘tomorrow’s LHSC’ includes a dedicated mental health ER.
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London Health Sciences Center (LHSC) has unveiled its masterplan to redesign the way care is delivered across the region’s largest hospital network.
An email was sent to staff Wednesday outlining several future changes for LHSC. It comes at a time when the hospital network is dealing with record occupancy rates due to RSV, influenza and COVID-19, which forced the cancellation of non-emergency surgeries at Children’s Hospital on Monday.
The plan to build “Tomorrow’s LHSC” includes three guiding principles for operations. The first is to group together complementary types of care, then to strengthen partnerships with other hospitals and care providers, and then to integrate research and teaching into each program.
“It’s about grouping programs that only make sense together,” LHSC president and CEO Jackie Shleifer Taylor said in an email.
“It’s about advancing access, inclusion, health equity and innovation. It’s about organizing expertise in care, teaching and research to advance the patient and staff experience.”
Services will be grouped into three new units:
- Acute specialty care for adults in a large, state-of-the-art emergency department.
- A dedicated mental health and addictions emergency department.
- Center for Child and Maternity Care.
The email to staff also said there will be an emphasis on finding new ways to collaborate with the community, regional partners and the larger health care system, according to the memo.
Schleifer Taylor wrote to staff, “Not only will we ensure the best training for tomorrow’s health care providers, but we will better integrate research throughout the organization, from the translation of research to the bench. will accelerate to the bedside and increase patient access to clinical trials.” .
He said the planning team is still looking at the facility’s design and will seek feedback from staff, a process he said will continue until early 2023.
CBC News reached out to the LHSC for comment, but no one was available at the time of publication. This story will be updated when a spokesperson is available.
