SUDBURY—Manitoulin Health Centre (MHC) has committed to entering into a three-year agreement with as many as 11 other regional partners for non-urgent patient transfer services, co-ordinated through Health Sciences North.
“Right now, the service is limited in terms of the number of patients we can put in a vehicle,” said MHC president and CEO Lynn Foster following the September hospital board meeting.
In many ways, the transfer service will continue to operate as it has under the past regime. The current, outgoing model began in 2013 under the administration of the Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board (DSB). It is still considered a pilot project despite having been in operation for six years.
Ms. Foster explained that there are two eight-hour shifts on weekdays and any required transfers at that time must be pre-arranged. The vehicles are similar in form to ambulances but are not equipped with life-saving equipment, only what is necessary for transporting stable patients. However, they can only accommodate two patients at a time.
Part of the contract will be for equipping the pool of partners with long-distance multi-patient vehicles (MPVs), the production of which should begin in October once all partners sign onto the contract. Their assembly is expected to take eight months.
The vehicles will be able to double the capacity of the current vehicles, enabling four patients to travel at once. The total number of vehicles is yet to be determined until all of the possible partners communicate their intentions.
The project will cost MHC $215,000 per year, with part of the funding going toward the capital costs and part to the operational costs. Ms. Foster told the board meeting that the partners are waiting to hear whether the Ministry of Health will approve their request for $500,000 in funding, which will help to offset the total costs.
Ms. Foster said the MHC portion of the costs will come from its Small Hospital Innovation Fund allocation. The parties in this agreement have not yet been disclosed because not all have signed the document as of press time. Ms. Foster said at the board meeting that the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB (which provides paramedic services and currently runs the non-urgent patient transfer services for MHC) had elected not to join.
