Health and Community Services
September 21, 2009
Minister
Releases Additional Information and Provides Update on
Assessment
The
Department of Health and Community Services released
additional information from the regional health
authorities regarding proposed budget adjustment
initiatives and provided an update on the status of new
laboratory and X-ray equipment in the province.
�Today, I am releasing the letters provided by the three
other health authorities and the email from the
department in which the info was requested,� said the
Honourable Paul Oram, Minister of Health and Community
Services. �Each year the regional health authorities
submit information for consideration by the department.
I would like to reassure the general public that
government is not considering the other cost saving
options at this time.�
On August 31 the Provincial Government announced an
assessment of all laboratory and X-ray services in the
province. While this review is on-going, all
procurements will be put on hold. The assessment process
is expected to be complete by late October.
�Our government works to balance quality with long-term
sustainability. And, sometimes this means that we need
to realign services to find this balance,� said Minister
Oram. �Our government faces a difficult decision to make
regarding the types of services we can offer in the
long-term, how much we can continue to invest as a
province and identifying how we can improve the quality
in our programs and services across the province.�
Budget 2009: Building on Our Strong Foundation provides
an unprecedented investment for health and community
services of $2.6 billion which includes increases for
annualization, infrastructure, prescription drugs,
long-term care, equipment, salaries and wages. To put
this amount of money in perspective, government spends
$7 million per day or $300,000 per hour. The Provincial
Government spends more per capita on healthcare than any
other province.
Since 2003, the Provincial Government has invested more
than $200 million in new medical equipment across the
province and increased the overall budget by a billion
dollars; $105 million has been invested for repairs and
maintenance to healthcare facilities; approximately $18
million has been provided for mental health and
addictions services and in the past two years has
invested more than $75 million to further enhance
laboratory services, cancer care and health information
management in the province. Government is also investing
in rural Newfoundland and Labrador like never before. In
fact, more than 80 per cent of government infrastructure
expenditures have been in rural Newfoundland and
Labrador since forming government in 2003. The province
has the highest number of nurses per capita, the highest
number of doctors in our history as well we have more
dialysis stations per capita than any other province.
�While our investments are significant and important to
the quality and accessibility of care, this rate of
increased investment is not sustainable over the long
term,� said Minister Oram. �Our government is working to
ensure rural healthcare services are sustainable so we
never go back to the previous ways of unsustainability.
It is important for us to make the right decisions today
to ensure a strong future for our healthcare system.�
Copies of the regional health information are below:
- 30 -
Media contact:
Ronalda Walsh
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-1741
ronaldawalsh@gov.nl.ca
2009 09 21
3:30 p.m. |
