LHSC's new president on virtual health care, staff burnout and the hospital's future

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant change and challenges for the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). Now, southwestern Ontario's largest health care network has a new leader in place with thoughts on what the future holds.

Jackie Schleifer-Taylor spoke with CBC London on Monday morning.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: When you consider the big picture, what do you think is the biggest challenge you face at LHSC? 

The biggest challenge LHSC is facing is one that's common across this country, and that is the pandemic. I would say the pandemic and the well-being of all of our health care providers and the well-being of the population as we are striving to get as much care through our doors as possible. 

Q: You're hampered by provincial funding. What kind of money will you be advocating for and how do you want to use it? 

I don't feel as though we're hampered at this moment by provincial funding. We're working very collaboratively with the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health West and Ontario Health, just making sure that the needs of this community and region has what it needs not only for the pandemic, but post pandemic.

We are really excited and have already received moneys to advance our surgical wait times and ambulatory wait times. We are also partnering with agencies in our community to serve our populations with mental health challenges. Those would really be the areas where we're keenly focused on expediting. 

Q: Last week, we told the story of a human rights complaint against the hospital by an Indigenous, two-spirit woman. LHSC couldn't comment on the case specifically, but told us that there's work to do. Can you tell me what you're doing to address systemic discrimination in health care? 

I'm always appreciative of patients and families and any individual who communicates to the hospital through any means that their experience was less than what they had hoped it would be. I would say that without that sort of feedback, we're not actually able to to deliver on that promise of patient focused care. I just I want to say that outright.

We are doing a number of things every day that are about learning how we can be better, everything from our patient relations department, inviting feedback, that's the more formal route. But then informally, our leaders at the bedside in every unit seeking advice and feedback from patients and families about how we can do better. 

I believe that the desire to advance cultural competency is a topic that has really come to the forefront over the past 20 months of the pandemic. I think we've learned a lot as a society about how health inequities have existed among us that we need to think about differently. So cultural competency, I believe, is a journey that every individual continues along a path of and we would be no different. 

Q: What permanent changes have the pandemic brought to your hospital? 

Our care spaces are very different now. We are so mindful of the importance of individual spacing, social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing. The pandemic has brought changes that are really about our physical space, which has launched us into this unexpected expansion of virtual care and that's been a huge change at the hospital, just thinking about the innovative ways we can still continue to treat patients and keep our wait times and access to care and our doors open. 

Q: And that's here to stay post-pandemic?

It most certainly is. In fact, I would say that virtual care, where it's appropriate, will be expanded upon. I would say our space and our physical space environment changes will be here to stay. These aren't things that I would describe anything other than innovations. We will take the positive lessons moving forward into the future. 

Q: How worried are you about the burnout of staff at the hospital and how can that be prevented? 

I always get a little choked up when we're talking about our staff and and leaders and providers at the hospital. I cannot describe how proud I am of their perseverance and resilience, but I'm always concerned for their well-being. Twenty months into a pandemic, none of us could have imagined at the outset of our careers.  I care deeply about their well-being because I know their well-being is the foundation for the well-being of the population we are committed to serving. 

Q: What do you think of the federal government's bill to make it illegal to intimidate health care workers and patients seeking health care services? 

I would welcome anything that protects our committed staff and providers and leaders who show up every day to serve.