(as published in the William Osler Health Centre 2006/07 Annual Report)

With a number of changes in the landscape of health care, both on a provincial and local level, this last year has been an active one for physicians at Osler. A great deal of work has been done in clarifying expectations of physicians on staff, refining processes to enhance patient safety and quality of care, and examining the effectiveness of protocols in various program areas.

Osler is one of very few hospitals in Ontario to conduct performance appraisals for all professional staff, and that process is already underway. In addition, we have started doing 360° reviews for all the medical chiefs. All of these have been completed. Revisions to professional staff bylaws and agreements concerning the consultation process and on-call procedures are also in the works to define best practices and ensure that both physicians and health centre staff are in agreement on issues such as when specialists need to be called in or which patient needs should be given priority.

We have undertaken reviews in areas such as the emergency department, psychiatry, laboratory medicine, and internal medicine. The resulting recommendations and ideas will help us change the way care is provided to enhance patient safety and health outcomes, efficiency of work flow, and overall quality. These initiatives are supported by Osler’s Clinical Quality of Care Committee and Patient Safety Committee to ensure that we adhere to our hospital’s mission.

In the near future, we look forward to adding more highperformance medical and nursing staff to our clinical teams, opening Brampton Civic and re-invigorating Etobicoke General with capital investments in facility upgrades and new equipment, including a much-needed MRI machine. The coming year promises to be a busy and exciting time… as always.

Dr. Ian Smith
Chief of Staff