There is good team representation across the continuum of care and involvement of physicians from both surgery and anaesthesia is a key strength. Note is made of the intent to pursue quality improvement initiatives through the surgical program co-ordinating team. A regional bed utilization team facilitates client flow along the continuum of care. A home intravenous therapy program has been successfully implemented. Work is under way to establish a dressing change clinic in the community setting.
Service provision is based on needs assessments, studies and population trends.
Surgical wait list tracking is done with priority for surgical time given to services which have very long waiting lists. Surgical service profiles are adjusted according to surgeon s specialty and as long as there is a demonstrated population need, adequate resources and trained staff. The current referral process is physician to physician referral and given the increasing pressures on bed availability, more formal referral networks should be pursued. Time lines otherwise known as care maps are in place to ensure consistency and for most surgical diagnoses these are frequently reviewed for currency. The discharge planning team co-ordinates client care needs at time of admission, and home care is often booked in advance of surgical procedure.