Province to Move Toward Patient Wait Time Guarantee for Cardiac Surgery

Government will begin planning to move toward a patient wait time guarantee for cardiac surgery in order to access available funding from the federal government under the Patient Wait Time Guarantee Trust Fund and through Canada Health Infoway for health information technology, the Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Health and Community Services, announced today. The guarantee will be implemented by March 2010.

�As a government, we have expressed concern to the federal government over the last year about proceeding with patient wait time guarantees, including the need for new resources to implement a guarantee,� said Minister Wiseman. �While many of our concerns are still valid, we are pleased that the federal government has recognized the need for new investments and we will use this funding to proceed with planning toward a new patient wait time guarantee for cardiac surgery.�

�Given the short timeframe provided to provinces and territories to make a decision on patient wait time guarantees and to access federal funding, there is significant planning required before we are ready to proceed with a wait time guarantee in this province,� said Minister Wiseman. �We will begin planning now to assess requirements, including human resources and infrastructure, along with funding required to sustain a patient wait time guarantee over the long term.�

Provinces and territories were required to indicate to the federal government by no later than March 26, 2007 their intentions with respect to implementing a patient wait time guarantee by the end of a three year period. If a province or territory chose not to enter into an MOU with the federal government on a patient wait time guarantee they would not receive funding under the Patient Wait Time Guarantee Trust Fund ($612 million nationally, of which Newfoundland and Labrador will receive $18 million) or be able to access funding through Canada Health Infoway ($400 million nationally) for the development of health information technology, such as electronic health records and wait time information systems.

In September 2004, first ministers committed to establish evidence-based benchmarks for medically-acceptable wait times in priority areas including cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacements, and sight restoration by December 31, 2005. Provinces and territories announced 10 common benchmarks within the five priority areas on December 12, 2005. Newfoundland and Labrador reports progress on these benchmarks on a quarterly basis.

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Media contact:
Tansy Mundon
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-1741
tansymundon@gov.nl.ca

2007 03 27                                   9:30 a.m.