Hospital needs 3 to 5 years to achieve 4-hour ER waits?

Sault Area Hospital is working real hard to reduce wait times in its emergency department to under four hours and to come in one percent under its budget.

But safety is the number-one concern, says SAH President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Gagnon.

In a presentation to the hospital board last night, Gagnon outlined a series of goals the hospital management team is undertaking over the next three to five years of operations.

"Safety first is a big priority for us," he said. "We need to be able to improve our safety in this organization when it comes to the amount of sick time we have and the amount of lost-time injuries we have."

In an interview after the meeting, Gagnon told reporters that the hospital hopes to achieve the four-hours-or-less wait time goal it set for its emergency department within the next year.

But realistically, it's more likely to happen over the next three to five years, he said.

"Absolutely we will get there," he said. "I don't know that we will get there within the next year but I do know that we will get there within the next three years to five years."

Gagnon told the board that an accountability agreement the hospital signed with the province for this year's operating budget commits the hospital to coming in one percent under its operating budget by the end of the year.

He said the move was necessary to bring the hospital out of its negative operating budget and he believes it's a workable arrangement.

"I'm still confident that we are going to be able to hit that budget by the end of the [fiscal] year," he told reporters.

Sault Area Hospital posted a negative balance in the first quarter, but a slight surplus in July and August have helped to reduce that deficit and bring it closer to target.

Sault Area Hospital is working real hard to reduce wait times in its emergency department to under four hours and to come in one percent under its budget.

But safety is the number-one concern, says SAH President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Gagnon.

In a presentation to the hospital board last night, Gagnon outlined a series of goals the hospital management team is undertaking over the next three to five years of operations.

"Safety first is a big priority for us," he said. "We need to be able to improve our safety in this organization when it comes to the amount of sick time we have and the amount of lost-time injuries we have."

In an interview after the meeting, Gagnon told reporters that the hospital hopes to achieve the four-hours-or-less wait time goal it set for its emergency department within the next year.

But realistically, it's more likely to happen over the next three to five years, he said.

"Absolutely we will get there," he said. "I don't know that we will get there within the next year but I do know that we will get there within the next three years to five years."

Gagnon told the board that an accountability agreement the hospital signed with the province for this year's operating budget commits the hospital to coming in one percent under its operating budget by the end of the year.

He said the move was necessary to bring the hospital out of its negative operating budget and he believes it's a workable arrangement.

"I'm still confident that we are going to be able to hit that budget by the end of the [fiscal] year," he told reporters.

Sault Area Hospital posted a negative balance in the first quarter, but a slight surplus in July and August have helped to reduce that deficit and bring it closer to target.

Improved patient satisfaction reported

Gagnon also reported last night that quality of care satisfaction surveys indicate rising satisfaction levels among most user groups at the hospital.

Patient satisfaction with the emergency department improved in the October 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007 period, the most recent for which data is available.

ER satisfaction with rose from 77.9 percent to 85.7 percent in the latest period.

The Ontario community hospital average patient satisfaction with emergency rooms is 81.7 percent.

Patients were less satisfied with quality of care in the maternity department, reported Gagnon.

In the last period, patient satisfaction with maternity care dropped from 88.4 percent to 86 percent, while the provincial average was 94.6 percent.

Day surgery satisfaction was down slightly while patient satisfaction with the rehabilitation department was up significantly, Gagnon reported.

Patient satisfaction with the acute care and ambulatory oncology departments was up about three percent each, he reported.

Gagnon said the results of in-hospital surveys are shared with managers on a weekly basis so areas for improvement can be identified and acted on.