Health and
Community Services
September 13, 2010
P/T Health Ministers Work Together to Advance Common
Issues
Health and Healthy Living/Wellness Ministers today agreed to work
together to improve the quality of health care for Canadians and in
doing so, also improve the sustainability of our health systems.
"Provinces and territories continue to face challenges in ensuring we
provide quality health care services for all Canadians," said the
Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services,
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, who hosted and chaired the
meeting. "By working together, we can address these challenges by
sharing best practices and seeking more opportunities for
collaboration."
Ministers also discussed the outcomes of the Council of the
Federation (CoF) premiers' meetings in August and committed to work
together to drive value-for-money in health care by working together on:
the purchasing of drugs and supplies, collaboration on clinical practice
guidelines, sodium reduction and healthy living. Ministers received an
update regarding work to develop a Pan-Canadian purchasing alliance and
agreed to develop a recommendation to pursue joint procurement of
supplies, equipment and drugs.
Health
and healthy living m
inisters
discussed ways that they can help Canadians act on the premiers' call to
reduce their personal sodium intake and to encourage the food industry
to lower sodium content in packaged and prepared foods, and exploring
opportunities to share best practices for reducing sodium consumption in
areas of provincial and territorial jurisdiction.
Provinces and
territories commit to sodium reduction initiatives within their own
jurisdictions. Ministers support the immediate implementation and
monitoring of the Federal Government's voluntary targets while
developing mandatory regulations to follow should the voluntary approach
not prove effective.
Ministers discussed the outcomes and recommendations of the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) meeting with international experts
on August 26, 2010, regarding the diagnosis and treatment of CCSVI for
patients with multiple sclerosis. Ministers agreed to direct officials
to explore ways to responsibly accelerate the collection of scientific
evidence and acknowledge that Canadians want to know as quickly as
possible if there is any way to collectively advance further treatment
for MS patients. Ministers will further discuss the issue with the
Health Canada Minister tomorrow.
Health and healthy living ministers discussed lessons learned from
the recent H1N1 pandemic. Provinces and territories will have further
discussions with their federal counterpart tomorrow.
Ministers look forward to productive discussions tomorrow with
Minister Aglukkaq, including on the restoration of federal funding for
the HPV vaccination.
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Media contact:
Tansy Mundon
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-2646
tansymundon@gov.nl.ca
2010 09 13 3:45 p.m.
