Pan-Canadian Health Human Resource Strategy: 2005-2006 Annual Report

Executive Summary

At the heart of any health care system are the people who deliver care - health human resources (HHR). The sustainability of Canada's HHR is an issue which has received increased attention in recent years. Canada's health care providers are a part of a constantly evolving health care landscape in which factors such as an aging population and work­force, new technologies, and health care reforms related to a Public Wait Times Guarantee are all con­tributing to the need for change.

These human resources are the health care sys-tem's greatest asset. Canada's ability to provide access to high quality, effective, patient-centred and safe health services depends on the right mix of health care providers with the right skills in the right place at the right time.

With respect to HHR, Canada faces a number of challenges in terms of supply, mix, distribution, retention, recruitment and training.

The 2004 Health Accord, signed by all First Ministers, sets out a health care renewal agenda based on a broad consensus from consultations with Canadians, including the Romanow Commission.

The Pan-Canadian Health Human Resource Strategy (HHRS) seeks to respond to the Accord commitments by securing and maintaining a stable and optimal health workforce in Canada and supporting overall health care renewal. The HHRS is comprised of three initiatives:

Pan-Canadian Health Human Resource Planning:

Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice; and

Recruitment and Retention of Health Care Providers/Professionals

In response to the Health Accords, Health Canada has worked collaboratively with provincial/territorial (P/T) governments, professional associations and other federal departments to advance the HHRS.

The Government of Canada committed $85 million in the 2003 with $20 million allocated for on-going annual funding to address Pan-Canadian HHR needs.

Stemming from the 2004 Accord, the federal govern­ment committed $5.5 billion over ten years to wait times reduction, as well as $75 million over five years for the Internationally Educated Health Professionals Initiative (IEHPI).

The work undertaken during 2005/06 will form the foundation for continued success towards the real­ization of a more optimal health care workforce. This report describes the key initiatives of the Strategy and outlines progress to date.

Pan-Canadian initiatives for a range of professions were also an important part of the activity in 2005/06.

Recognizing the challenges faced by International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in Canada, the Canadian Taskforce on Licensure of International Medical Graduates was established in 2002, and the recom­mendations it made to federal/provincial/territorial governments in 2004 were endorsed. Through a strong partnership among federal departments, provincial/territorial governments, regulatory bodies, academic organizations and key stakeholders, sig­nificant progress continued to be made in 2005/06 to develop and implement new initiatives.

The Internationally Educated Nurses Taskforce, established in 2004, continued to bring together numerous Canadian nursing stakeholders and Health Canada to collaborate in addressing the issues faced by internationally educated nurses (IENs). Nursing along with the five other profes­sions identified a common need for development of an orientation program to the Canadian health care system for internationally educated health profes­sionals. These professions worked collaboratively to begin the scoping and development of such a pro­gram and work will continue in 2006/07 on this ini­tiative.