Communications

OHA Appears Before Legislative Committee Re: Emergency Measures Legislation


Ontario Hospital Association
200 Front Street West, Suite 2800
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3L1
Tel: (416) 205-1345 Fax: (416) 205-1360
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Wednesday, August 18, 2004

TORONTO – Ensuring that Ontario's health care system is well coordinated and that specific roles and responsibilities have been clearly laid out in advance of an emergency are key recommendations being made today by Ontario's hospitals at a panel discussion of the Standing Committee on Justice Policy as MPPs review the province's emergency management statutes.

"The SARS crisis and last year's power blackout illustrated that Ontario's health care system must be ready to handle a wide range of emergencies," said Janet Beed, Chief Operating Officer of the University Health Network and OHA representative at the panel discussion. "OHA strongly supports the committee’s work in modernizing Ontario's emergency management legislation."

Some of the key issues that have emerged from recent health emergencies include:

  • The need for special emergency health legislation;
  • Ensuring better system coordination and authority to direct and coordinate hospitals in the event of an emergency; and
  • The importance of a clear delineation in roles and responsibilities for hospitals, public health and other health care providers directly involved in dealing with emergencies.

"Over the past two years, Ontario's hospitals and their thousands of dedicated health care professionals performed extremely well in the face of two major emergencies," added Barry Monaghan, President and CEO of West Park Healthcare Centre and an OHA attendee at the roundtable. "We need to learn everything we can from these experiences so that Ontario's health care system is even better prepared to handle future crises."

The Standing Committee on Justice Policy has been holding hearings throughout August to "review the adequacy of Ontario's emergency management statutes" and "to adopt the text of a draft bill."

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For further information:
Anthony Dale, OHA Public Affairs
416-205-1348