‘The world feels different than it did five years ago’: MLHU set new priorities in the post-pandemic era

As CTV London’s Sean Irvine reports, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has unveiled its new five-year strategic plan.

Amidst shifting social opinions, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) has launched a new five-year plan designed to reach more members of the community.

It comes as London’s make up shifts.

“In the wake of the pandemic, we now have an opportunity to reset our direction moving forward. And so, we have a new strategic plan for the years 2026 to 2030,” explained Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Alex Summers.

Yet it is not just the pandemic that will shape the document and the organization’s new slogan, “Healthy People. Thriving Community.”

“The world feels different than it did five years ago. From increasing homelessness, ongoing substance use, increased population growth and complexity, more diversity in our communities,” said Summers.

“It’s a different London. It is a different Middlesex County.”

Part of the change is vaccine resistance, and not only to COVID-19 immunizations.

Summers stated the resurgence of measles has solidified the need for new communication techniques, even though more than 90 per cent of children are up to date.

“There are folks who are not confident in these products. Those are really fair questions,” he said.

“They’re fair to be asked, and we need to be able to have robust answers and reassurance that says to folks, look, measles is a disease that historically killed young children.”

The MLHU strategic plan comes in the wake of a nearly nine percent funding boost in the local portion of MLHU funding. Summers said the boost has kept most programs on track.

But the agency is struggling with limited funding increases from the province.

“Ideally, we would need an annual funding increase equivalent to inflation, which in most instances is around that three per cent mark,” he added.

“Over the last number of years, we have been receiving a one per cent increase from our provincial funders, which hasn’t kept pace either with inflation or with population growth.”

With files from CTV News London’s Bryan Bicknell.