St. Anthony site for new Selfcare/Telecare Nurse Contact Centre

In keeping with its commitment to use technology to improve access to health care services and to strengthen and support rural Newfoundland and Labrador, Premier Danny Williams today announced that government has identified St. Anthony as the location for a new Selfcare/Telecare Nurse Contact Centre. The centre will provide a toll-free health line, operated by registered nursing staff, available for all residents of the province to access 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Our government is committed to improving access to heath care services for residents of our province. Our investment in a selfcare/telecare centre will provide 24-hour access for patients with non-emergent situations or minor symptoms needing services both during and outside regular clinic hours, and it will improve access to health care advice for residents in rural areas of the province," said Premier Williams. "Our decision to base this service in St. Anthony also reflects our commitment to strengthen and support rural communities in our province."

The province�s Selfcare/Telecare Nurse Contact Centre, which will be located on the Grenfell health care site in St. Anthony, is an enhanced primary health care service that will provide two levels of service � tele-triage, or assessing an individual�s health condition and advising on whether or not the caller should seek another level of care, and an information line, which may direct the caller to a Web site or automated library of recorded health information.

"The introduction of selfcare/telecare in our province reflects our commitment to use information and communications technology to enhance the delivery of health care services to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador," said Health and Community Services Minister Tom Osborne.

As part of government�s commitment to providing opportunities for rural economic development, approximately 24 registered nurses will be hired to support the new Selfcare/Telecare Nurse Contact Centre based in St. Anthony. Other positions will include patient assistant representatives, along with information management, human resources and administrative support staff.

"The placement of this new centre in St. Anthony confirms our government�s commitment to rural Newfoundland and Labrador and, in particular, the Northern Peninsula," said Minister Taylor. "The centre will provide a much needed economic boost in the area while providing all residents of the province with easier access to medical advice. This is a fantastic announcement and I am honored to be a part of it."

Government announced $771,000 in Budget 2005 to launch the selfcare-telecare service in conjunction with the Atlantic provinces as part of the Primary Health Care Atlantic partnership. The province of New Brunswick is the lead province for Selfcare/Telecare Atlantic, a $6.9 million initiative funded by Health Canada, through the Primary Health Care Transition Fund. Newfoundland and Labrador has just signed an agreement with the province of New Brunswick to establish the contact centre in the province.

As part of the agreement, New Brunswick�s service provider, Clinidata, will operate the Newfoundland and Labrador contact centre. Clinidata, the largest nursing telecare service in Canada and among the top five providers of telenursing in the world, currently provides telehealth services to populations in New Brunswick, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, the Canadian Armed Forces and British Columbia.

This initiative is part of government�s commitment to use information and communications technology to enhance the delivery of health care services to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. Further details on the Selfcare/Telecare Nurse Contact Centre will be released in the coming weeks. In February 2006, government announced that a contribution of $10.5 million by Canada Health Infoway Inc. (Infoway), combined with government�s investment of $4 million in Budget 2005, will support the development of a province-wide Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) by 2007, making Newfoundland and Labrador the first province in the country to have a province-wide system.

Media contact:

Elizabeth Matthews, Office of the Premier, (709) 729-3960, 690-5500 or elizabethmatthews@gov.nl.ca
Tansy Mundon, Health and Community Services, (709) 729-1377, 685-1741

2004 04 28                                                              12:30 p.m.