Board members of the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) serve at the pleasure of the government of the day. They are appointed by Order in Council, and have a reporting relationship directly to the Minister of Health.
There isn’t much direct criticism from the LHINs of government health care policies, including organization of the LHINs.
Last week the Change Foundation issued a new report on integrated health care — Winning Conditions to improve patient experiences: integrated health care in Ontario. What’s significant is the Change Foundation report was reviewed by key players within the system, including Bill MacLeod, CEO of the Mississauga Halton LHIN.
While the Change Foundation suggests the final report wasn’t necessarily endorsed by the reviewers, this is an organization that has some high level participation from key stakeholders, including former deputy minister Ron Sapsford, who sits on the Foundation board alongside departing Ontario Hospital Association CEO Tom Closson.
The Change Foundation suggests that the LHINs function differently in reality than on paper, calling their “authority” a debatable point, the conditions on which they’ve had to operate “have been hardly winning.”
OPSEU Diablogue 