Encouraged by the “rich input” offered by attendees at recent roundtable discussions held in various communities in the Central Local Health Integration Network, LHIN staff promised a full summary to each participant.

The LHIN, says Hy Eliasoph, CEO, delivered the summaries a week following the closing session of the fourteen community roundtables.

The roundtables offered providers and consumers the chance to discuss ways to improve and re-design health care in the LHIN, which has the largest population base (1, 542, 900.)

“We had a phenomenal response,” says Eliasoph, of the community-based meetings, which were designed to be small, intimate gatherings.

“We wanted quality and not quantity,” he says. “A lot of people got significant face time with their colleagues.”

The meetings also shattered the assumption of many health care providers that the public is not up to snuff on key health care issues, says Eliasoph.

The richness of the consumer feedback on hospital and long term care issues, he says, was surprising for some.

“I think it was a learning experience for many providers,” say Eliasoph.

“They are way far ahead in their thinking.”

The LHIN Board outlined their draft vision, values and strategic directions at the meetings. The information gained from the sessions will be combined with quantitative data and will inform the LHINs IHSP planning work.

Some of the feedback from the meetings included

• access to physicians, diagnostics prevention and recovery supports such as rehabilitation, diabetes education, falls prevention, and wellness programs;

• navigation of services – knowing what services are available and being able to find them;

• responding to population, linguistic and ethno-cultural needs is an integral part of appropriate service provision;

• there is a need for caring in the system with more senior and youth ‘friendly’ services;

• After-hours clinics and Telehealth are useful ways to get better access; and

• The cost and distance of transportation are barriers to service

(with files from Central LHIN newsletter, May 2006)