Summary Report on Performance

The Ministry of Health Services has made a strong commitment to transparent performance reporting in the health sector, and has been working with health authorities and agencies, such as the Canadian Institute for Health Information, to develop meaningful performance indicators and ensure quality data are available. In addition to the ministry's Annual Service Plan Report, a number of other performance reports are now produced, including the Provincial Health Officer's Annual Report, the Annual Report on Health Authority Performance, British Columbia's Report on Nationally Comparable Indicators and the Vital Statistics Annual Report.

Performance reporting in this annual report is focused on the objectives, strategies and performance measures contained in the ministry's 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan. The ministry's strategic focus has been, and continues to be, in support of government's priorities and the ministry's three overarching goals:

Performance reporting indicates progress toward meeting these goals and priorities. The table on the following pages provides a synopsis of the ministry's key performance results for 2004/05.

Overview of Ministry Results

Overall, the ministry has performed well in achieving its performance targets. The following table gives an overview of results for 29 key performance measures used to judge progress on the ministry's key objectives and priority strategies as outlined in previous service plans. Detailed reporting of these results, including historical data and results analysis, can be found in Appendix A: Report on Performance.

At the time of publication not all performance measures have complete data available for 2004/05. When complete data is not available, the ministry uses the most recent data available to assess its progress. In the following table, measures listed as "Achieved" include those that have met the 2004/05 targets, and those that are expected to meet the targets based on partial year data from 2004/05. Measures listed as "Substantially Achieved" are those where results indicate the ministry has achieved significant progress, either within 2004/05 or across the three years ending 2004/05.

Performance measures listed in the table as "Trend on Track" are those where no 2004/05 data is available but where the most recent data available indicate the ministry is making progress toward the 2004/05 target. Performance measures that have not been achieved and require more work and are listed as "Not Achieved".

Of the 29 performance measures used to judge progress on the ministry's key objectives, 24 have results that achieved or substantially achieved the target. An additional four performance measures show trends that are on track to achieve the targets, and one measure did not achieve the target and requires further attention. These results indicate the ministry has made good progress in re-aligning the system to provide care in the appropriate setting, has increased access to higher quality care, and improved the efficiency and management of the health system.

The ministry has also undertaken a number of strategies to meet objectives within its stewardship and corporate management role. Accordingly, the following table also includes 14 performance measures identified for those objectives and strategies. All but one of those performance measures was either achieved or substantially achieved in 2004/05. Detailed reporting on the stewardship and corporate management strategies can also be found in Appendix A.

Synopsis of Ministry Results

Stewardship and Corporate Management

New Era Commitments

Over the past four years the Ministry of Health Services has been implementing the government's New Era commitments for the health system. Many of those commitments, such as implementing performance agreements with health authorities, have now become an ongoing part of the ministry's operations.

The New Era commitment to build 5,000 residential care and assisted living beds is underway, but requires more work in the coming years. The province is developing new residential care beds, supportive housing and assisted living spaces to ensure seniors and people with disabilities have a range of housing and care options appropriate to their individual needs. This commitment is currently underway with a revised timeline.

To date, we have built or renovated over 4,000 units. These units include a portion of 3,500 additional independent living spaces for seniors and persons with disabilities through Independent Living BC, built in co-operation with nonprofit, community, municipal and federal partners through the Independent Living BC program. This also includes an extensive program of replacements and renovations for residential care to modernize outdated facilities (some more than 30 years old) and ensure 24/7 quality care for patients with complex care needs. While this emerging need to replace aging stock on top of adding new stock has created challenges, by December 2006 we will be more than halfway to meeting our commitment, and will meets its final goal by the end of 2008.