Monday, October 23, 2006

Dr. Alan Hudson, lead of Ontario’s Wait-Time Strategy, met with members of the media to discuss how the province’s plan to improve access and reduce healthcare wait-times has increased patients’ access to care. For the past two years, Dr. Alan Hudson has been leading the wait-time battle cry in Ontario and the man leading, what MacLean Magazine has deemed, “a revolution” in healthcare. While at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Dr. Hudson will be meeting with physicians, area hospital CEOs, senior leaders and medical office staff from the area LHIN hospitals.

TBRHSC is a dramatic example of wait-time strategy success. Over the past two years, TBRHSC has received additional wait-time funding, allowing TBRHSC to perform 92 additional cancer surgeries, 800 additional cataract surgeries, and 85 additional joint replacement surgeries. Along with funding for an additional 5,770 MRI hours above the previous 4,400 base hours, the result has been significant decreases in every procedure that is being tracked. For example, prior to the implementation of the wait-time program, TBRHSC had one of the longest wait-time records in the province for MRI appointments at 53 weeks. Today, that wait-time has been reduced to less than 4 weeks.

Dr. Hudson, a respected Neurosurgeon, was President and CEO of Toronto’s University Health Network, and most recently President and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario, which oversees cancer services in the province.

In September 2004, Dr. Hudson was appointed to the Ontario government’s Health Results Team, leading the strategy to improve access to services and wait-times. More information is also available at the Wait Time Strategy web site www.ontariowaittimes.com.

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