Government continues to improve patient care

The Williams government will transform the face of health care and deliver continued improvement in patient care with an infusion of $33.5 million in Budget 2005, announced Health and Community Services Minister John Ottenheimer today.

"We are moving on the immediate priorities of greater access to services, reducing wait times and enhancing medical transportation benefits, and building the foundation for meaningful long-term change in our health system," stated Minister Ottenheimer.

Budget 2005 unveils funding for a new community-based home care program, along with enhanced transportation benefits for Labrador residents and financial support for the new health authorities to stabilize existing services.

Home Care
In an effort to ease the pressure on our hospitals, government will dedicate $2 million to expand a provincial post-acute home care program and an end-of-life care program, starting in the Western region which builds on the current pilot project.

The acute home care program will further assist patients recovering from surgery, other medical interventions or requiring wound management for a two-week duration. Specialized home care services including wound management and related drug therapies, as well as personal care will be provided at home, allowing hospitals to send patients home quicker and target their acute care resources to those who need it most.

End-of-life care will also be offered, starting in the Western region, to give terminally ill clients the choice of spending their final days within their own homes. This alleviates the pressures and burdens placed on family caregivers and allow clients and their families to achieve the best possible quality of life in time of need.

"People who are able to receive the care they need in the community can now stay out of hospitals, reducing the stress on these institutions," said Minister Ottenheimer. "Hospitals are then better equipped to provide the acute care services they are so good at providing."

Medical Transportation Assistance for Labrador
Furthering a key goal of the first ministers� agreement, government will invest $567,000 to help Labradorians overcome the barrier of affordability when accessing the health services they need outside their communities and region.

Building on government�s Blueprint commitment to provide more equitable access to health services, government will introduce two improvements to medical transportation assistance benefits for Labradorians:

• Province pays the first $500 of travel expenses per resident annually on eligible medical travel claims. All remaining reimbursable expenses are cost-shared 50-50, benefiting approximately 500 residents; and
• As recently announced, the introduction of a $40 round trip fee for Labrador West residents travelling to Happy-Valley Goose Bay for CT Scans and laparoscopies, benefiting approximately 220 residents.

An existing provincial Medical Transportation Assistance Program currently provides assistance to patients who travel via commercial air to access insured services outside the boundaries of their regional health authorities. Funding is based on a $500 deductible, which is applicable once in a 12 month period, with the balance of eligible expenses cost-shared at 50 per cent.

Building a Sustainable System
While the new 2004 FMM Health Accord funding allows for investments in priority areas, it does not address all of the competing demands for health care funding. Good fiscal health in each of our new health authorities is needed to ensure residents can access vital services now and into the future. During this transition year, government will allocate $20 million in one-time stabilization funding to regional health authorities to assist them in balancing their budgets in the year ahead.

Recognizing that health expenditures grow faster than normal inflation, government will also provide $11 million to address inflationary costs and utilization including medical and surgical supplies, drugs and utilities.

In September 2004, Premier Danny Williams, joined his colleagues in signing a first ministers� agreement on health care, delivering a plan to strengthen health care over the next 10 years. Newfoundland and Labrador will receive an additional $284 million over six years to support the provincial delivery of health care services. Under the agreement, first ministers identified a number of priorities including access to services, wait time reduction, home care, wellness and health technology.

Media contact: Carolyn Chaplin, Communications, (709) 729-1377, 682-5093

2005 03 21                       3:05 p.m.