NLIS 3
September 10, 2002
(Health and Community Services)

 

Minister releases Strategic Health Plan

Gerald Smith, Minister of Health and Community Services, today released Healthier Together: A Strategic Health Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador. The plan sets out directions for the health and community services system for the next five years.

"The release of this strategic health plan, today, marks one of many important milestones we will reach in the next five years," said Minister Smith. "This is a plan for the entire health and community services system."

Healthier Together is a blueprint for the health and community services system in Newfoundland and Labrador. It sets out three major long-term goals focused on wellness, community capacity building, and health services renewal. They are:

1. Improve the health status of the population of Newfoundland and Labrador;

2. Improve the capacity of communities to support health and well-being;

3. Improve the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of health and community services.

"Our goal is to operate a quality, accessible, and sustainable system for this province," stated the minister. "A coordinated approach to service delivery and increasing the health of the population will set us in the right direction."

The directions outlined in this plan are a result of extensive consultation with key stakeholders. One of the key contributing processes was Health Forums 2001. This consultation process brought together over 500 stakeholders and resulted in significant feedback for the development of the strategic health plan.

Minister Smith explained that throughout the development of the strategic health plan, the department worked with the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Boards Association and its members. "The association and its members play an integral role in providing quality health and community services in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we will continue to work together as we move forward with the plan," he said.

John Peddle, executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Boards Association said the health boards endorse Healthier Together, and are committed to working towards the strategic goals outlined in the plan as priorities for the health system. "Health boards are very supportive of the three major long-term goals of the strategic health plan, and we look forward to working with government and the health system on the implementation of that plan."

Healthier Together outlines a proactive approach to health and well-being. It emphasizes the importance of adopting healthy attitudes and behaviours that lead to improved health, and illness and injury prevention.

"We rank among the highest in the country for the risk factors of smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption - all of which are connected to chronic disease," said Minister Smith. "This is astounding since many of the factors that place our population in peril are risks that can be avoided through a change in attitude and behaviour."

A Provincial Wellness Advisory Committee will be established to oversee the development and implementation of a wellness strategy. This committee will focus on initiatives that promote and protect health, prevent illness and injury, promote the healthy development of children and youth, and build healthy communities.

The actions outlined in the plan support the idea that community-based wellness initiatives will provide opportunities for individuals and families to attain increased health and well-being. The strategic health plan highlights the need to encourage community partnerships which will help foster individual responsibility for healthy living.

The strategic health plan outlines a new model for delivering primary health care services. A Provincial Primary Health Care Advisory Committee, consisting of key stakeholders, will be established to oversee the development of a provincial plan for primary health care.

"We recognize that the first level of contact citizens have with the health and community services system contributes significantly to the way in which people manage their health," said Minister Smith. "Therefore, it is imperative that this level of care become the focal point of the system."

The plan also outlines the need to realign the location of services throughout the province and identifies the basic elements that will be adopted by the system for determining how and where services should be located. Further work will be conducted in this area before final decisions on the location of services can be made. Additionally, Healthier Together identifies the mental health and long-term care sectors as areas that need further work. Strategies for each of these sectors will be developed through further consultation with stakeholder groups.

Government is committed to ensuring the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have a quality, accessible, and sustainable health and community services system. Without the full support of all partners, together with reinforcing policies and programs, the system will not be able to truly move from an illness model to one which achieves wellness.

"While we, as a government, have a responsibility to ensure the proper supports are in place to contribute to the health and well-being of the population," said Minister Smith, "it is also important for us, as individuals, to realize the role we play. At every stage of care, we are a partner in our own health.

"Working together we will renew the system to meet the needs of the people of this province. Healthier Together focuses on the importance of partnering. Partnering for quality. Partnering for sustainability. Partnering for health," he concluded.

For a copy of Healthier Together: A Strategic Health Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador, please contact the communications division at (709) 729-6670 or visit the web site at www.gov.nl.ca/health/strategichealthplan .

Media contact: Diane Keough, Communications (709) 729-1377.

2002 09 10                                      11:40 a.m.


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