December 1, 2022
Communities in southwestern Ontario are rapidly expanding and changing. London is the fastest growing city in the province and one of the fastest growing cities in the country. With this change comes an impact on health care – an impact that we must plan for to deliver the best care possible for generations to come.
For the past several months, LHSC has engaged with partners, staff and physicians, and the communities we serve to gather feedback about the future of health care in the region. Thanks to the input received, we are pleased to announce that we taking the next step forward in building a world-class, inclusive system of care.
We are embarking on a visionary and ambitious journey that will reimagine, redesign and redevelop health care at LHSC. Our Master Plan will be our map and there are three key innovations that will guide us:
- Grouping complementary types of care together;
- Strengthening partnerships with other hospitals and care providers; and
- Integrating research and teaching into every program.
Grouping certain programs together will ensure patients receive the best care possible through a network of health care professionals all operating from the same setting. This is about advancing accessibility, inclusion, health equity and innovation. It’s about organizing expertise in care, teaching and research to drive the patient and staff experience forward.
In our proposed plan, the LHSC of tomorrow will group services in three settings:
- An adult acute specialized care centre with a large, state-of-the art emergency department;
- An adult mental health and transitional/supportive care centre with a dedicated mental health and addictions emergency department; and
- Our Children’s Hospital for paediatric and obstetrical care, which includes a specialized paediatric emergency department.
Underlying our plan will be new ways of partnering to advance care. As we move forward in our planning, we will be engaging further and collaborating closely with partners in health care, research, education, community services and other sectors.
Equally important will be the embedding of research and education into every program across LHSC. Not only will we ensure the best training for the health care providers of tomorrow, but we will also expand research and access to clinical trials.
LHSC’s Master Plan will be a blueprint for ensuring people in London and our region receive the care they need for the next 30 years. It will help us build a hospital system where patients experience improved outcomes by receiving the best possible care in the most appropriate setting. Our Master Plan will ensure that we fulfill our mandate as one of Canada’s largest research-intensive acute care teaching hospitals. It will enable us to deliver the care that Londoners and those across our region deserve.
This is the beginning of our redevelopment journey – which will occur over many years. While these changes will not happen overnight, they will inform the options for how our facilities may look 10, 20 and 30 years from now. We will be conducting more research and engagement over the coming months before the submission of our Master Plan to the Ministry of Health in July 2023. Your engagement is important, and you can continue to be a part of the process any time by emailing masterplan@lhsc.on.ca.
Together, we will build the best possible system of care for our parents, children and grandchildren.