Working toward a sustainable health care system for all

By MPP Toby Barrett

To The Haldimand Press

During meetings, door knocking, and attending community events, I find the provision of health care remains the number one issue for Ontario taxpayers.

Access to publicly funded health care is fundamental to our shared understanding of what it means to be an Ontarian and a Canadian.

However, there are threats to the long-term sustainability of our system – not the least of which includes an increasingly aging population with complex needs. The future of the health care system we cherish and expect is at risk.

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To that end, Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott attended AMO – Association Municipalities of Ontario – to present our plan to build a modern, connected, and sustainable public health care system. Our system is in need of transformational change.

With the creation of Ontario Health, the province’s new central health agency, and the work toward establishing the first wave of local Ontario Health Teams, the goal is to build a connected, integrated, coordinated system of care – centred on the patient. To ensure patient-centred care, health teams will be based on and driven by local communities.