More Convenient Care Act Including Merging Peterborough and Northumberland County Health Units

The Ontario government has introduced the More Convenient Care Act, 2024 which would, if passed, take the next step in the province’s plan to provide more people with the right publicly funded care, in the right place by building healthier communities, and bolstering the province’s health care workforce today and in the future.

The initiatives are based on three key pillars of strengthening care:

Strengthening Governance and Transparency:

Amending the City of Hamilton Act, 1999

The government is seeking feedback on proposed amendments to the City of Hamilton Act, 1999, administered by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to enable a semi-autonomous Board of Health governance model, where City Council appoints members, which can include community representatives, to a separate board of health. This is expected to improve service planning by fostering broader perspectives on the board of health and providing flexibility for representation to enhance local decision-making.

Proposed new legislation: Health Care Staffing Agency Reporting Act, 2024

The government is seeking feedback to create new legislation that would create a regulatory framework for staffing agencies to report administrative, billing, or pay rate information to the government. The transparency framework would be designed to achieve transparency regarding the rate agencies, charge hospitals and long-term care homes, increase cost certainty for employers and stabilization of agency rates.

Affirming that Ontario Health atHome is subject to the French Language Services Act

Proposing legislation that would amend the Connecting Care Act, 2019 to affirm that Ontario Health atHome is subject to the French Language Services Act. Ontario Health atHome is a provincial crown organization, operating under Ontario Health, that provides and coordinates local in-home and community-based care for thousands of patients across the province every day.

Enhancing Patient Care:

Amend the Mandatory Blood Testing Act, 2006

The government is seeking feedback on proposed amendments to the Mandatory Blood Testing Act, 2006 to allow nurse practitioners to complete and sign Mandatory Blood Testing forms. Enabling nurse practitioners to complete and sign Mandatory Blood Testing forms will assist in providing applicants such as victims of crimes, correctional officers, or paramedics with expanded access to this health care service.

Improving Patient Access to Information

Proposed amendments to the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, would help empower Ontarians to have more control over their health, including by enabling eligible Ontarians with direct digital access to certain personal health data held in the Provincial Electronic Health Record (EHR), subject to any exceptions specified in regulation.

Improving Service Delivery:

Supporting Mergers of Local Public Health Agencies

The ministry is also proceeding with support for the voluntary mergers of nine local public health agencies into four new organizations. These mergers will strengthen and expand the delivery of public health services to residents of these communities. If approved:

• The Porcupine Health Unit and the Timiskaming Health Unit would become the Northeastern Health Unit.
• The Brant County Health Unit and the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit would become the Grand Erie Health Unit.
• The Haliburton, Kawartha & Pine Ridge District Health Unit and Peterborough County-City Health Unit would become the Haliburton, Kawartha, Northumberland & Peterborough Health Unit.
• The Hastings & Prince Edward Counties Health Unit, the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Health Unit and the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit would become the South East Health Unit.

Refining Public Health Roles and Responsibilities

These amendments would support public health practices that are aligned with current evidence and best practices, reduce burden on impacted stakeholders including local public health agencies, public pool owners, and residential pool and spa owners and to address time-sensitive emerging public health issues that may impact health care facilities.

Strengthen Oversight for Local Public Health Agencies

Proposing amendments to Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, which would strengthen the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s oversight functions of Section 22 Class Orders issued by a local medical officer of health. This change is expected to support greater alignment, consistency, and proportionality in Section 22 Class Orders issued by local medical officers of health in response to a local communicable disease risk, while also providing greater opportunities to identify provincial supports to help mitigate the risk.