In April, SSC dedicated $15 million to fund specialist-led ideas in quality and innovation. The call for ideas went out through an Expression of Interest (EOI).
And BC specialists didn’t disappoint. SSC received over 300 ideas – a total value of $177 million. The EOI submissions came from specialists within all health regions. Decisions for submissions going forward to a proposal stage are expected to be made in Fall 2014
The EOI submissions came from specialists within all health regions. The submissions’ areas of focus included: timely access, surgical improvements, ER decongestion, end of life, pooled referrals, residential care, cancer, severe disability, maternity, and mental health/substance use and complex/chronic care. A considerable number of ideas involved multidisciplinary care, and requests to fund allied health providers. Below is a breakdown of the number of submissions received by specialists, grouped by health authority:
Provincial Health Services 16
Vancouver Coastal Health 50
Fraser Health Services 43
Northern Health 16
Island Health 47
Interior Health 47
Multiple Health Authorities 106
The funding recognizes the important contributions specialists make to the health care system, and provides an opportunity to share solutions for system improvement. Only specialists who are actively practicing in BC were eligible to submit.
This is the second time SSC has offered funding for specialist-led quality and innovation initiatives. In 2012, SSC dedicated $8 million to fund over 20 initiatives. We used the lessons learned from this initial funding offer to enhance the new process.
This time around, the EOI submissions are more holistic in their approach – identifying upfront needed resources and support, for example, Health Authority support. In this way, SSC expects to fund initiatives that will have “legs” and can remain viable beyond the initial cash injection.
The submission stage is now closed. Submissions are currently being evaluated by a panel of SSC members to determine which will be developed into full proposals. The evaluation process includes input from appropriate Health Authorities, but final decisions rest with the SSC Evaluation Panel.
The panel is made-up of SSC committee members. Decisions for submissions going forward to a proposal stage are expected to be made in Fall 2014. Any submission that is asked to be developed into a proposal may receive funding support from SSC to do so.
