Ontario Hospital Association Health Achieve 2006: Rural and Northern Health Care Session
Speech for the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Health and Minister Responsible for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Ontario Hospital Association Health Achieve 2006
Rural and Northern Health Care Session
via video conferencing
November 7, 2006
Toronto, Ontario
Check against delivery.
Introduction
Thank you Donald [Sanderson, CEO of AlexandraHospital], for that kind introduction.
And a special thank you to Hilary [Short, President and CEO of the OntarioHospital Association] for inviting me. It's a pleasure to be here today even if it is through video conferencing.
Hilary, once again you've managed to pull together one of the largest conferences of its kind, and brought together this country's leading thinkers on health care issues. All in an environment that is so inspirational and conducive to new ideas.
I'd like today to share my perspective on some of the health care issues facing rural and northern communities as both the Minister of Health and the Minister responsible for FedNor - the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.
Rural and Northern Ontario
In a country as vast and varied as Canada - the second largest country in the world - conditions in rural and northern communities are faced with additional layers of complexities that create more challenges ensuring timely access to care.
It's an issue of which I'm all too aware while I served as Provincial Health Minister for Ontario. And now as Member of Parliament for Parry Sound - Muskoka and living in Port Sydney, I'm reminded daily of the reality that that outside of our major cities, hospitals are fewer and farther apart and transportation costs and accessibility create additional challenges.
This is compounded by the fact that chronic diseases, and their impacts on our health care system, on the fabric of society, and on the economy, are on the rise...In fact 60% of all deaths worldwide last year were attributed to chronic diseases! That is alarming.
Chronic diseases are challenging the way we deliver health care in this country, and challenging a system that was intended to focus on episodic illnesses, infectious diseases, and circumstantial traumas.
Chronic disease sufferers require long-term treatment, multiple visits to specialists, on-going testing, disease management, and a life-long relationship with our health care system.
There are other challenges:
Patients are sometimes not able to get to the hospital because of severe weather conditions.
And physicians and nurses are stretched to their absolute limit, trying to do the job of several health professionals at once.
We're also faced with an aging workforce where doctors are retiring, and recruitment and retaining doctors in our rural and northern communities are major challenges.
Now, I've always believed that true innovations in health care come from the front lines. Through your work, you have helped us monitor the pulse of the health care system, and advocated for long-term solutions to systemic problems. Your constructive approaches to issues such as patient wait times and health human resource shortages have pointed the way forward.
As the new government in Ottawa, we made a commitment to improve the quality of health care in this country and we will honour that commitment to Canadians by continuing our work on patient wait times guarantees.
Patient Wait Times Guarantees
Best practices...it's a term we are hearing more and more in every sector, in every industry, in every workplace across the country. It is more than just a term, it is a philosophy, a mandate, and one that is crucial in the health care field. It is the best practices initiatives put forward by the Ontario Hospital Association and other associations across the country, including the provinces and territories that are helping to improve the way we deliver health care and make the system more accountable to the patients. Best practices will help us deliver Patient Wait Times Guarantees.
As I've said before many times, Canada's new government is committed to a patient-centred approach. Patients need to be, deserve to be, at the centre of the health care system.
The guarantee will let patients know how soon they can expect to receive care, and what to do if their wait becomes excessive. It also brings a new level of healthcare accountability, ensuring that patients will always receive timely medical treatment.
We're moving forward on these guarantees. I'm delighted in particular about the success in Quebec and Manitoba on formal and informal guarantees. Across the country, evidence is being gathered to set more wait time benchmarks. And every province and territory is reducing wait times according to local needs and conditions.
Health Human Resources
As a former provincial Health Minister, I recognize how labour-intensive health care is. The statistics speak volumes: the health sector accounts for approximately 10 per cent of the overall workforce in Canada, and employs over 1.5 million Canadians.
One of the key cornerstones we are addressing in our health system is health human resources (HHR).
Of course, doctors, nurses and other health professionals want the best for patients. And no system can function nor any reform take place, including patient wait times guarantees, without addressing health human resource issues.
The needs are particularly acute in rural and northern areas in Ontario.
As you already know, the federal government is working with the provinces and territories to increase the numbers of, and expand educational programs for doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, to make sure that Canada has the most effective supply and distribution of skilled people to fill the many roles that our health system needs to meet our health care priorities.
Recently, the good news is we've seen recent increases in the number of student placements in medical schools and we have seen considerable growth in the numbers of provincially funded opening for post-medical school education in our teaching hospitals and similar facilities.
We are seeing more positions opened to the international medical graduates who have made Canada their home and who want to use their talents and expertise in this country.
In budget 2006, we committed to ensuring that educational programs for doctors, nurses and other health professionals are expanded, and the assessment of the credentials of internationally educated health care professionals are accelerated.
We have been working with provinces and territories and stakeholders to enable more internationally educated health professionals to put their skills to work in Canada's health system.
This government has continued important funding into programs that improve the integration internationally trained Canadians into the workforce, such as our Internationally-Educated Health Professional Initiative.
This Initiative will increase the number of health professionals who become licensed and integrate into the Canadian health workforce.
Changing the way we educate health care professionals to work together, share responsibility and collaborate is key to increasing access to health care services - and, by extension, reducing wait times.
Our government's Inter-professional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centered Practice Initiative is assisting health professionals to attain the necessary skills and knowledge to work effectively in collaborative team practice.
Nurses and other health care professionals provide care before, during, and after all care. Effective recruitment and retention initiatives are imperative to make sure we have enough qualified workers - to reduce the burden of waiting.
The number of nurses is increasing. The Nurse Practitioner role is being enhanced, which helps to improve access to health care. We're seeing better workforce planning, as well as investment in promoting healthier, more stable workplace environments.
First Nations & Inuit Health
Our government is also committed to improving the delivery of health services to our First Nations and Inuit people.
We must improve the coordination of health care services and programs offered by the various health systems with
programs like the Health Integration Initiative.
The Weeneebayko Area Health Integration Initiative, in north-eastern Ontario, completes the merging of two federal and provincial hospitals. It will create a First Nations Health Authority for the delivery of health services.
Another of these projects under the Initiative is based in Nunavut. It reviewed existing health promotion programs with a goal of harmonizing federal and territorial health care in the areas of maternal health, child health, dental health, and addictions treatment.
As many of you know, I've recently announced $8.1 million dollars for the development of a National Nursing Portal which is a resource that will allow nurses to obtain information on all aspects of health care and is truly a step forward in making the best use of information technology and addressing health human resource issues.
This innovative tool will also go a long way in supporting many rural and remote Aboriginal communities, where a nurse is often the only access point to Canada's health care system.
Moreover, nurses in First Nations and Inuit communities often face difficult conditions and challenges that are unique to their remote and isolated locations. Like all nurses, those working in Aboriginal communities need to be able to find valid information and collaborate with physicians and other health care colleagues to manage health episodes, as well as chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and mental illnesses. This tool will help them overcome some of those challenges.
With programs and initiatives such as these, we are improving the delivery of health services for northern and rural communities.
Conclusion
As we collectively work to improve the system, we must address the changes required to make the system better. It will require exploring opportunities for new and emerging health care professions, such as physician assistants, and strengthening the profile and distribution of nurse practitioners.
Just as important, it will require improving how health professionals learn together, work together, share responsibility and collaborate in inter-professional teams.
Effective recruitment and retention initiatives are imperative to support patient wait times guarantees.
I am continuing to work with my provincial and territorial counterparts, on health human resource issues, on issues relating to ensuring Canadians receive the health care they deserve, when they need it, regardless of their ability to pay.
The Ontario Hospital Association is clearly providing the initiatives we can turn to for inspiration - not just for northern and rural care, but for the health care system in general.
I want to thank each of you here today for your dedication and for your drive, and for believing as I do that improving the challenging health conditions in rural and northern communities is a priority that together, we will work to better and improve.
We'll work together towards making the transition from thought to action. Canadians are counting on all of us to improve the foundation and build a better health care system for all.
Thank you, merci and enjoy your conference.
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