Last Wednesday at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, I had the opportunity to announce the creation of an organization called Shared Health Services Manitoba (SHSM).
Manitoba’s health-care system is complex for a province of 1.3 million people. There are eight independent organizations each doing their own planning, standard setting and service delivery in relative isolation of one another. These include the five regional health authorities and entities such as Diagnostic Services Manitoba. This is neither efficient nor effective and has been identified as a major impediment to improved access to quality health-care and our ability to manage costs in a sustainable way.
For example, there are a number of clinical experts that are employed within the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA). Being the largest RHA, much of this expertise is employed only in the WRHA. It is difficult for rural RHAs to maintain these clinical experts and the system doesn’t allow them to properly use their expertise across the entire province to develop standards and consistency in Manitoba.
As well, in the different health organizations, there can be overlap and duplication as each plans their own capital, often their own purchasing or their own legal services to name just a few examples. By having an organization that will be provincial, these services and resources can be done centrally and not have to be duplicated across the province.
It will allow for there to be provincial planning but local delivery.
In addition, the new SHSM will be given a clear mandate in the areas of physician recruitment, health labour relations, and workplace safety and health. It will also include support functions that are better managed provincially such as contracting and procurement, health human-resource functions, clinical engineering services and communication services. In addition, some health-care services will be managed centrally by SHSM as they reach across more than one region. This includes the operation of Health Sciences Centre, including Children’s Hospital, Transplant Manitoba, provincial laboratories, diagnostic imaging and emergency medical services including ambulance services and dispatch.
The Department of Health will retain focus on policy, planning, funding and oversight of the provincial healthcare system.
Regional Health Authorities will continue to be responsible for the provision of front-line health-care services in their region and will participate in provincial planning to ensure the delivery of effective services to all Manitobans.
Work will begin now in preparation for an April 1, 2018 launch of SHSM and Dr. Brock Wright has agreed to take on responsibility for the leadership of Shared Health Services Manitoba.
These and other changes are about ensuring that our health-care system is properly aligned, sustainable and providing the best possible patient care. They also designed to ensure that our professional health-care staff are working in a system that meets their needs today and tomorrow.
