ST.
JOHN'S, NL, May 21, 2024
/CNW/ - Every senior in Canada deserves to age in dignity, safety, and
comfort, regardless of where they live. That is why the Government
of Canada is investing close to
$200 billion over 10 years, which
includes $5.4 billion for tailored
bilateral agreements with provinces and territories on Aging
with Dignity.
Today, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Minister of Labour and
Seniors, on behalf of the Honourable Mark Holland, Canada's Minister of Health, and the
Honourable Tom Osborne, Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Health and Community
Services, announced a bilateral agreement to invest $78 million over the next five years to help
residents of Newfoundland and
Labrador age with dignity. This
funding builds on the close to $256
million bilateral agreement that was announced with the
province in March of 2024.
Federal funding will support Newfoundland and Labrador's five-year action plan to improve
health care for seniors. The plan will:
- Improve home and community care systems
- Hire additional clinical staff to increase access to care and
support;
- Utilize technology for new service delivery models and
implement initiatives for timely access to home supports and care
needs, medications, and medical equipment based on clinically
assessed needs;
- Support individuals living with dementia through new
community-based supportive care options and more training courses;
and
- Increase options for restorative and rehabilitative care in the
community.
- Enhance palliative and end-of-life care
- Support a new 10-bed community hospice in Grand Falls-Windsor;
- Improve access to supports and services for individuals at end
of life living at home; and
- Improve palliative and end-of-life care through more training
and education opportunities for care providers.
- Strengthen the workforce
- Establish a geriatric medicine fellowship at Memorial University;
- Fund wage increases for more than 1500 personal support workers
(PSW) employed in personal care homes, and bolster recruitment and
retention initiatives for those providing care; and
- Support training to improve health care outcomes and promote
independence and well-being.
- Enhance the quality of care and quality of life through
improved long-term care standards
- Ensure long- term care home standards align with national
standards;
- Improve quality of life and quality of care, as well as staff
work life balance; and
- Implement a person-centered care approach to care through
social and recreational programming, access to behaviour management
specialists, and advanced dementia care education.
Progress on these initiatives and broader commitments will be
measured against targets which Newfoundland and Labrador will publicly report on
annually.
Through this new agreement and the Working Together agreement
signed in March 2024, the Government
of Newfoundland and Labrador will work with the Government of
Canada to improve how health
information is collected, shared, used and reported to Canadians;
streamline foreign credential recognition for internationally
educated health professionals; facilitate the mobility of key
health professionals within Canada; and fulfill shared responsibilities to
uphold the Canada Health Act to protect Canadians' access to
health care based on need, not the ability to pay.
Recognizing the significant disparities in Indigenous health
outcomes, the Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador also commit to meaningfully engaging
and working together with Indigenous partners to support improved
access to quality and culturally appropriate health care services.
Newfoundland and Labrador's action plan is informed by
continued engagement with its Indigenous partners and supported by
the recent trilateral discussions involving the federal government.
All levels of government will approach health decisions in their
respective jurisdictions through a lens that promotes respect and
reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal government will
continue working together to improve health services and deliver
results for seniors across the province, including responding to
the needs of rural, remote, Indigenous and other underserved and
disadvantaged populations.
Quotes
"No matter where you live, every Canadian deserves access to
safe and high quality health care at every stage of their lives. By
working together with Newfoundland
and Labrador this agreement will
help transform the health care system so that across the province
seniors can get the care they need."
The Honourable Mark Holland
Minister of Health
"Seniors deserve to age with dignity and choice. So they can age
on their terms. A strong healthcare system lets seniors age on
their own terms."
The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr.
Minister of Labour and Seniors
"The Aging with Dignity Action Plan allows us to continue to
improve access to and quality of community supports and long term
care services for seniors. This agreement also aligns with Health
Accord NL which identifies Aging Population as a priority. By
working together with our Federal partners and our stakeholders,
Newfoundland and Labrador will continue to be a leader in
modernizing and transforming health care, and so that our seniors
can age with the dignity and respect they deserve."
The Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services
Quick Facts
- Under the Working Together to Improve Health Care for
Canadians plan, the Government is working with provinces and
territories to implement two series of bilateral agreements, one of
which is focused on helping Canadians age with dignity, closer to
home with access to home or community care or care in a safe
long-term care facility.
- The Aging with Dignity agreement, which complements the Working
Together agreement, includes $2.4
billion ($600 million per year
for fiscal years 2023-24 to 2026-27) over four years to improve
access to home and community care from Budget 2017; and
$3 billion ($600 million per year for fiscal years 2023-24 to
2027-28) over five years for long-term care from Budget 2021 to
apply standards of care in long-term care facilities and help
support workforce stability. Newfoundland and Labrador's 5-year Aging with Dignity
Agreement and Action Plan can be found here.
- Budget 2023 outlined the Government of Canada's plan to invest close to $200 billion over 10 years, including
$46.2 billion in new funding for
provinces and territories, to improve health care for Canadians.
Within this funding, $25 billion is
allocated through tailored bilateral agreements to address the
unique needs of their populations and geography in four shared
health priorities:
- expanding access to family health services, including in rural
and remote areas;
- supporting health workers and reducing backlogs;
- increasing mental health and substance use support; and
- modernizing health care systems with health data and digital
tools.
- Newfoundland and Labrador's three-year Working Together
Agreement and Action Plan, announced in March 2024, is associated with the above shared
health priorities and can be found here.
- The Working Together investment includes, a guaranteed 5
per cent Canada Health Transfer (CHT) increase for the next five
years -- estimated to amount to $17.5
billion -- and a one time CHT $2
billion top-up to address to urgent needs of emergency rooms
and paediatric hospitals delivered in June
2023. Combined, these investments provide provinces and
territories the flexibility to address the unique needs of their
populations and geography, and accelerate health care system
improvements.
- Budget 2017 committed $11 billion
over 10 years in federal funding to provinces and territories to
improve access to home and community care, and mental health and
addictions services for Canadians. Bilateral agreements were signed
with provinces and territories to access the first six years of
that funding. The final four years of funding for mental health and
addictions are included in the new Working Together
bilateral agreements.
Associated Links
- Working Together to Improve Health Care in Canada
- Working Together Bilateral Agreements
- Aging with Dignity Bilateral Agreements
- Budget 2023
SOURCE Health Canada (HC)