IN BRIEF
New data available on
home care and mental health and addictions anadians now have more information about home and community care and mental health and addictions services in their province or territory. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) has released three new indicators that show how Canada’s health systems are faring when it comes to how many Canadians • Are hospitalized because of harm caused by substance use • Seek frequent emergency room (ER) care for help with mental health and/or addictions • Have their hospital stay extended because the right home and community care services and supports are not ready These indicators are the first three of 12 chosen by the federal, provincial and territorial health ministries, in consultation with Canadians, to measure access to mental health and addictions services and to home and community care. This first year of results provides a baseline against which to track im-
C
provements over time. It will take time for new investments and renewed focus to have an impact on indicator results.
INDICATOR HIGHLIGHTS
Hospital stays for harm caused by substance use This indicator measures how many hospital stays are a direct result of substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, cocaine and other drugs. The first-year results, based on 2017–2018 data, show the following: • Every day, more than 400 Canadians were hospitalized due to harm caused by alcohol or drugs, more than the number of hospital stays for heart attacks and strokes combined. • Two out of three of these hospital stays were for men. • About 40 per cent of Canadians who had hospital stays caused by substance use also had a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression or schizophrenia. • Alcohol consumption was the top
cause of hospitalization for harm attributed to substance use across all jurisdictions, accounting for more than half of these hospital stays. After alcohol, cannabis and opioids were among the top drugs leading to hospital stays for substance use in adults. For children and youth, these hospital stays were more likely to be caused by cannabis than by alcohol or other substances. Frequent emergency room visits for help with mental health and/or addictions This indicator measures how many Canadians visited the ER four or more times in one year. In jurisdictions where ER data is available, the analysis found the following: • One in 10 Canadians who visited an ER for help with mental health and/or addictions did so at least four times in one year. • Half of these frequent ER visits were related to patients who were treated for both a mental health condition and an addiction.
• Half of frequent ER users who visited for help with mental health and/ or addictions were younger than 35. Hospital stay extended until home care services or supports ready Home care is a vital service for many Canadians who need assistance but do not require hospital care. This indicator measures the number of days patients remain in hospital while waiting for home care services or supports to be ready. According to the data, • More than 90 per cent of hospital patients had access to home care services as soon as they were ready to be discharged from hospital. But one in 12 had their stay extended because the services or supports were not ready. – This is the equivalent of three large hospitals filled each day with people who did not need hospital care. • A typical extended stay was seven days or less, but one in 10 extended stays was 39 days or more. • Patients with extended hospital H stays tend to be older women. ■
Let patients help hire your staff Continued from page 4 And the CEO for a large Metropolitan Toronto hospital said the questions posed by the patient advisor on his selection committee were some of the most meaningful and challenging that he faced. Other good reasons for having a patient or family member involved in staffing decisions. • They reflect the community and involving them shows the community the commitment the organization has to being transparent • They can provide unique perspectives on the patient experience • It helps reinforce the need for the 6 HOSPITAL NEWS JULY 2019
candidate to have patient/people skills • It demonstrates that patient partnering is part of the organization’s DNA. • It signals to the organization’s patient population that patients are valued and meaningfully involved in important decisions. • It helps to ensure the final candidate is truly someone who understands what it means to work with patients and family members as partners in delivering quality care. To make it a valuable experience for all, patients who are involved in
hiring need an outline of what the expectations are as a member of the search committee and they also need some training. To be meaningful, patients need to be involved throughout the hiring process from setting the hiring criteria and being involved in the initial screening to the final interviews. When we first wrote about this topic q a blog for Health Quality Ontario, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Both patients involved in the hiring processes in hospitals and hospital administra-
tors said patient involvement was beneficial and “demonstrated an organizational commitment to authentic engagement.” And why stop at hospitals or health care institutions and academic institutions? A good case can be made for involving patients or family members in selecting who should be admitted to medical school. While not as common a practice as involving patient advocates in institutional staffing decisions, it is happening at medical schools like the one in School of Medical Sciences, UniverH sity of Manchester in the UK. ■ www.hospitalnews.com