Speaking Notes for Honourable Ross Wiseman
Minister of Health and Community Services

St. John�s Rotary Club
The Cabot Club, Fairmont Hotel Friday, March 14, 2008, 8:00 a.m.


  • Good morning. It is my pleasure to be here this morning for my first address to the St. John�s Rotary Club � and perhaps one that is overdue. Yours is an organization with a very distinct and extensive history in our province and certainly one that is heavily involved in supporting our local communities with a close link to our health and community services system.
     
  • Over the past 80 years the rotary has provided funding to community agencies, medical equipment to hospitals and help where it is needed. It is clear to me that your organization and our government have a shared interest- the well-being of the people of our province.
     
  • This January marked one year for me as health minister- and it is sometimes difficult to believe that it has only been that long. As I reflect back on this year, I can�t help but find it bittersweet. I choose this word because we have had so many great accomplishments in our health care system, more so than any period in our province�s history, yet often the positive has been marred or lost in the storm of unfortunate events which dominated the news in Newfoundland and Labrador recently.
     
  • In light of recent difficult situations regarding breast cancer ER/PR testing, the Burin radiology issue, sprinkler systems in personal care homes and challenges within the foster care system, our health care system has come under intense public scrutiny. It is the way of the world that the controversial makes the headlines and captures the attention of the public.
     
  • And, this is not to diminish the gravity of the situations which we, in the health care system, found ourselves in. Indeed they were very serious situations which had a tremendous impact on individuals and families in our province. And let me be perfectly clear, that these people are always front and centre in the minds of our government members.
     
  • But I also want to make it clear that we cannot let these isolated situations tarnish our view of our health care system and the excellence consistently demonstrated by the health care professionals and support staff who support and treat the people of our province each and every day.
     
  • So today I would like to share with you some of the good news - some of the new initiatives, the personal stories and the plans our government has for the future of our health care system.
     
  • First and foremost, I would like to share with you one very important fact: Every single decision our government makes around the cabinet table, every strategic investment we put into this province is done with one consideration only- what is the best we can do for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
     
  • Our Government believes that an essential element to ensuring the well-being of our people lies in giving them the tools and the opportunity to prosper.
     
  • This requires a multi-sectoral approach by Government with strategic initiatives that complement one another to support the needs of our communities. This is commonly referred to as a population health approach.
     
  • This approach inherently recognizes that individual well-being is made up of many factors beyond what we traditionally call health care services. These factors include housing, education, employment, safe drinking water, finances, social networks and spiritual well-being, among many others.
     
  • So while health care is a top priority for our government, health care investments alone cannot consume our government�s budget entirely. In fact, it would be unjustified for us to do so.
     
  • That being said, health care does account for a large portion of the provincial budget, approximately 40 per cent in fact, which is higher than any other province. In the last four years we have increased the annual provincial health care budget by $558 million.
     
  • This increase has enabled us to respond to numerous needs in the health and community services sector- needs which had been unmet by the previous administration. Our government took up the challenge of getting the fiscal state of our province in order and it�s clear that we have been successful with back to back record surpluses.
     
  • Our province is in the best fiscal position it has been in its history, but years of neglect in many sectors by previous administrations will take years to repair.
     
  • Make no mistake we have made significant headway in all sectors, including health and community services.
     
  • We have an unprecedented record of achievement. We have kept our bluebook commitments and held steadfast to our strategic plans.
     
  • And, it is remarkable to see the improvements that have come about as a result.
     
  • Through a $55 million annual increase, we have expanded the provincial drug program by introducing two new plans to extend coverage to individuals and families with low incomes and to those who have high drug costs.
     
  • To help support our people in living healthier lives, we have introduced a provincial wellness plan.
     
  • Aging infrastructure is another key issue we face today. Many of our province�s health care facilities are well-past their prime and are not designed to meet the needs and best-practices in today�s modern health care environment.
     
  • Our government has made significant investments in new health infrastructure and capital repairs and maintenance in health facilities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador over the last four years, totaling $128 million.
     
  • Our health care system has been strengthened with the completion of satellite renal dialysis sites in Burin, St. Anthony and Happy Valley-Goose Bay and the opening of two new cancer clinics in Central Newfoundland.
     
  • In the months ahead we will continue to see the results of this investment, including the openings of the new long-term care home in Clarenville and the new Humberwood Addictions Treatment Centre in Corner Brook. This year will also see the new primary health clinic and re-development of the Blue Crest Inter Faith Nursing Home in Grand Bank completed.
     
  • As well, we are committed to making further investments in health infrastructure such as the new health centre for Labrador West and the completion of the long term care home in Corner Brook.
     
  • As you all know, last year marked the release of the Turner Review and investigation. This report painted a picture of a system which had been deprived of resources for far too long.
     
  • We committed an additional $9 million annually to strengthen the Child Youth and Family Services System by adding the necessary processes and resources to help take some of the strain off social workers and help them to do their job more effectively.
     
  • This included adding an additional 118 new positions, of which approximately 70 have been filled. Our regional health authorities have been very successful in recruiting and we hope to have the full complement of positions filled in the near future.
     
  • It is my honest opinion that Newfoundland and Labrador has a health care system as good as any other province in Canada. And, key to this fact are recent measures to improve access to health care services being faced with a geographically dispersed population.
     
  • Our province is leading the way in implementing innovative health care technology. We are only the second province in the country to have introduced a province-wide diagnostic and picture archiving communications system.
     
  • We also introduced a province-wide toll free Healthline available 24 hours, seven days a week, and our provincial teleoncology program has benefited over 500 individuals in rural communities since 2005.
     
  • As well, the development of a provincial pharmacy network is currently underway to link all provincial pharmacies and reduce the potential for double-doctoring and adverse drug interactions.
     
  • As well, Newfoundland and Labrador received an �A� grade according to the report card released last year by the Wait Time Alliance for Timely Access to Health Care. The progress report assesses the progress of provincial and territorial governments in achieving wait times benchmarks within five priority areas, as agreed upon by Provincial/Territorial Ministers of Health in December 2005 under the 2004 Ten-year Plan to Strengthen Health Care.
     
  • We have made significant investments over the past three years which are clearly making an impact on wait times across our province.
     
  • Most importantly, this means that we are succeeding in our efforts to improve timely access to health care services for our residents.
     
  • Physician recruitment and retention is also a priority for our government to address the needs of our rural areas. The decreased access to family physicians is an issue not just here and in other Canadian jurisdictions but across the world. Emerging issues in physician practice include the increasing age of physicians practicing in private clinics. Many physicians will retire in the coming years or choose to limit their practice to part-time.
     
  • But we are planning now to give our province the best advantage for an increase in family physicians. And, key to our strategy is training more of our own people. Right now, Newfoundland and Labrador has the most physicians in practice that it has had in its history, numbering almost 1,000.
     
  • Over 80 per cent of Memorial graduates who are licensed to practice medicine stay in the Newfoundland and Labrador health care system. Over 59 per cent of our family physicians are Memorial graduates. It is also interesting to note that approximately 40 per cent of Memorial medical graduates grew up in a rural community.
     
  • Our blueprint commitment outlines a $15 million expansion and $11.75 million in new annual operating costs to expand the number of spaces for Newfoundland and Labrador medical students at the Memorial University Medical School by 10% in the coming year and 30% within the next five years, bringing enrolment from the current 60 up to 66 next year and to 78 within five years.
     
  • This, combined with our family practice bursary programs will serve to increase our complement of physicians, especially in rural areas of our province.
     
  • All these initiatives and many others that you may not have heard about serve to strengthen and positively impact individuals and families throughout our province.
     
  • I received a letter earlier this year from a mother on the West Coast who expressed her heartfelt thanks to our government for covering insulin pumps for children. I quote her letter in saying that this was �an answer to her prayers,� having wondered how she would raise the money otherwise.
     
  • These pumps have been made available to 135 children across the province with Type 1 diabetes. The cost to the province was $1.4 million- a small price tag in the big picture- but the benefits to these 135 families are priceless.
     
  • Research has shown that future complications of diabetes, such as heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputation, can be reduced by 50-70% with insulin pumps. As well, these children are now free to be children without the constraints of constant injections.
     
  • Another story I would like to share with you involves a unique project we undertook in collaboration with Dr. Geoff Smith, Eastern Health and Labrador Grenfell Health. The project was affectionately called �Operation Tooth� by those involved and essentially saw a team led by Dr. Smith traveling to Labrador to perform oral surgery on 38 children, many of whom were in constant pain.
     
  • These children had been on a waiting list to be seen in the Janeway, but this initiative allowed us to treat them all over a four day period-thereby removing the waitlist entirely for children in this region.
     
  • Our success with Operation Tooth was based on a creative and collaborative approach that benefited 38 young patients who otherwise might have been waiting for months for surgery, with the total cost coming in at just $48,000.
     
  • Seeing this success, we recognize the great potential to use this new model of health care delivery in addressing other areas of need with respect to dental services. We are now exploring the possibility of bringing additional clinics to other under-serviced areas of Newfoundland and Labrador.
     
  • To complement this, we also announced a new dental rural bursary program and a dental specialist program to support an increase in dentists and dental specialists across our province.
     
  • So, this paints a picture of just some of the good things that are happening in health care each and every day. It shows a people who are committed to supporting their fellow residents and it demonstrates the hard work and dedication of the individuals and teams within the system.
     
  • Now, and into the future, we will work with our Regional Health Authorities, community partners and stakeholders to identify challenges and address them through the most efficient and effective means.
     
  • We will continue to look towards innovative and advanced treatment solutions while educating and promoting health and well being.
     
  • And, we make a commitment to do this with the utmost transparency and accountability so that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador can be confident that this Government is working to serve the best interests of the people of this province.
     
  • I thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today and I look forward to the opportunity to join you again in the future.

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