|
CHUS honoured for wait time work |
|
|
The Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) was recently awarded the Gold prize in the Health category at the 2009 Public Sector Leadership Awards. Put on annually by The Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC), the CHUS won for its participation in the Canadian Paediatric Surgical Wait Times Project. 
COURTESY Bruno Lavoie and Dr. Sandeep Mayer coordinated the wait times project at the CHUS.
Co-directed at the CHUS by Dr. Sandeep Mayer, chief of paediatric surgery, and Bruno Lavoie, clinical-administrative chief of surgical care, the Sherbrooke hospital is one of 24 hospitals from across Canada that participated in the project. It was started by officials at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the B.C. Children’s Hospital.
“(The project) was put in place so surgeons could calculate the waiting time for patients between the ages of zero and 18-years-old,” said Lavoie of the award-winning project. “(T)his information allowed them to determine that the CHUS compared favorably to other paediatric centres in Canada. In effect, our waiting time for paediatric surgery is equal to or less than the wait time of regular patients, something that is very encouraging for our team.”
At the beginning of the project in 2007, the 24 participating hospitals gathered statistics and shared the information with each other. Initially, information from six types of pediatric surgery was evaluated: cancer, heart disease, dental care, neurosurgery, scoliosis, and ophthalmology. Eventually the project grew so that all types of paediatric surgery were evaluated.
With the information in-hand, the hospital officials figured out ways to cut down wait times and to optimize their efficiency. “Notably, some pan-Canadian standards based on diagnosis were adopted,” explained Dr. Mayer, noting that the sharing of information between the 24 hospitals has resulted in a significant decrease in wait times at his hospital. “At the CHUS, we can now make decisions based on the degree of urgency so that the right patient is operated on at the right time.”
All Canadian organizations are eligible for The Public Sector Leadership Awards. Gold, Silver, and Bronze prizes are given across five categories: federal/provincial/territorial government, municipal government, health care, educational, and not-for-profit.
A five-person jury judges the role leadership played in the submissions based on a number of criteria, including execution, impact, collaboration, and innovation of the project.
Among the 2009 winners was the Société de vélo en libre-service (SVLS) of the City of Montreal for their BIXI project; a communal bicycle commuting service. Two Bishop’s students are in the beginning stages of installing a similar service in Lennoxville.
As for the pediatric project, Cathy Seguin of The Hospital for Sick Children believes that winning the award is a great way to help advocate new ways to treat patients. “This award acknowledges the value of innovation and the importance of responding more proactively to the health care needs of all Canadians,” she said.
In 2008 and 2009, just under 1,600 paediatric surgeries were performed at the CHUS thanks in large part to the Wait Times project. By Doug McCooeye 2010-01-28 |
Montreal Canadiens
