NLIS 5
September 29, 2005
(Health and Community Services)
Minister announces $223,632 to
strengthen Newfoundland and Labrador�s health care workforce
Ujjal Dosanjh, federal Minister of Health, today
announced a federal contribution of $223,632 to Newfoundland and Labrador�s
Department of Health and Community Services as the first in a series of
collaborative initiatives to strengthen the province�s efforts in health human
resource planning.
�Last September, when first ministers signed the 10-Year Plan to Strengthen
Health Care, they agreed to continue and accelerate their work on health human
resources,� said Minister Dosanjh. �With the ultimate goal of reducing wait
times, targets and time lines for improvement were also agreed upon. This
funding will assist efforts in Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure citizens
receive timely access to quality care.�
The contribution comes from the Pan-Canadian Health Human Resources Strategy (HHR
Strategy), which annually receives $20 million in federal funding. The HHR
Strategy seeks to create a stable health care workforce with the right number
and mix of health professionals, and a renewed and revitalized health system
that provides care to Canadians when they need it, wherever they live in this
country.
Newfoundland and Labradorians will use these funds to build on existing
provincial planning efforts and initiatives concerning the health workforce.
The provincial Minister of Health and Community Services, John Ottenheimer, says
Newfoundland and Labrador is working to meet the FMM commitment to develop
targets for training, recruitment and retention of health human resources. All
premiers pledged to report to the public on progress by December 31, 2005.
�These targets, along with constructive and long-term planning will ensure we
can respond to the need for health care workers today and in the future,� said
Mr. Ottenheimer. �These new initiatives will improve the recruitment, retention,
training, and deployment of various health professionals, and increase the
evidence-base and the capacity to plan. We are extremely pleased that Health
Canada is on board as a funding and planning partner in health human resources.�
This contribution promotes the objectives of the Pan-Canadian HHR Strategy
through numerous activities being undertaken by the Newfoundland and Labrador
Department of Health and Community Services. These activities include:
developing province-wide standards related to HHR data, and continuing the
collection of this data to strengthen the evidence-base for HHR planning;
developing best practices for the recruitment and retention of physicians in
Newfoundland and Labrador, coordinated through the office of physician
recruitment;
implementing a Resident Assessment Instrument/Minimum Data Set (RAI/MDS) in one
organization to establish the collection of nursing workload data which will
facilitate better planning and deployment of the nursing workforce;
implementing a regional one-week training program for supportive care workers in
order to enhance the provision of community mental health services in the
province; and
assisting regional integrated health authorities to develop and sustain quality
professional practice environments for registered nurses and licensed practical
nurses to positively impact nurse retention and client outcomes.
These activities reflect the commitment of both governments to ensuring a health
care workforce that will allow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to receive care
from the right professional, offering the right service, in the right place, at
the right time. The two governments look forward to collaborating on further
initiatives under the HHR strategy to address these objectives.
Media contact:
Carole Saindon
Health Canada
(613) 957-1588
Tansy Mundon
Department of Health and Community Services
Newfoundland and Labrador
(709) 729-1377
Ad�le Blanchard
Office of Minister Dosanjh
(613) 957-0200
Public Enquiries:
(613) 957-2991
Health Canada news releases are available on the
Internet at
//media.health-canada.net
2005 09 29
10:30 a.m. |