August 2, 1999
(Health and Community Services)

Investments in health care paying off

Joan Marie Aylward, Minister of Health and Community Services, said today that Newfoundland and Labrador's health system is not only working well, but is meeting national standards, contrary to reports being put forward by the Opposition health critic.

"It's time for the Opposition to stop their unfair attack on the health care system in this province," said Minister Aylward. "We are very fortunate to have top notch physicians, nurses and other professionals managing our system. The Opposition critic should commend these people, instead of calling their decisions into question."

The minister said there are many good things happening in health care which unfortunately go unnoticed. "I am extremely pleased to advise that 100 per cent of our health facilities are fully accredited by the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA). This is determined by the CCHSA through a process which is external to the provincial government, and is based on national standards. Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest participation rate in Canada in this program," said the minister. "Similarly, I wish to congratulate the St. John's Region for being the first community health board in Canada to receive their accreditation with the CCHSA. This speaks very highly of our institutions and boards, and the competent people who manage them."

On the issue of physicians, Minister Aylward said that in 1999, we have more physicians in this province than there were 10 years ago, even though our population is several thousand less. And, a May 1999 publication of Maclean's Health Report listed St. John's as number three in Canada with respect to the number of specialists per capita.

Another important indicator of the success of our health care system is our ability to recruit doctors from our own medical school. "Last year, we were successful in recruiting 15 per cent of the new graduates. This year, recruitment is up to 75 per cent," said the minister. "And, I am pleased to report that we have recruited many new physicians to the province in the past year. As an example, we are expecting two new psychiatrists to start work in the western region and one in the eastern region shortly."

Several new full-time physicians and five part-time physicians are also beginning work at Memorial's Faculty of Medicine in the areas of rheumatology, medical oncology, cardiology, medical genetics and neurology.

Right across the country, all provinces are dealing with nursing shortages in various ways. On the nursing front in Newfoundland and Labrador, the minister said government is dealing with workload issues. $7.5 million was allotted to create 125 new permanent nursing positions, and $2.3 million to convert up to 540 casual nursing positions to permanent status. $4 million is also allotted for additional support staff positions, to lessen the current workload of nurses and allow them to concentrate more on nursing duties.

Government also allotted millions of dollars to pay down accumulated deficits of the institutional boards, and for programs for families and their children. "Another $250 million is being spent in improved health care facilities around the province, like the new hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

"We are working diligently on human resource planning for all health care workers, and are in close contact with the institutional and community health boards to ensure the system is meeting the needs of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Our publicly funded health care system is based on principles such as accessibility where the sickest people get cared for first," said the minister. "An efficiently run publicly funded system does have waiting lists for some services. However, emergency care is always a priority." Government remains committed to health care. "It's our number one priority," said the minister.

The budget for the Department of Health and Community Services continues to be the highest expenditure of all government departments at $1.2 billion.

Media contact: Karen McCarthy, Communications, (709) 729-6670.

1999 08 02         3:15 p.m.