March 18, 2024 | Regina, Saskatchewan | Health Canada
Canadians deserve a health care system that gives them timely access to health services when and where they are needed, as well as the ability to age with dignity closer to home.
Today, the Honorable Mark Holland, Minister of Health of Canada, the Honorable Everett Hindley, Minister of Health of Saskatchewan, and the Honorable Tim McLeod, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health of Saskatchewan announced two bilateral agreements to invest a total of more than $560 million in federal funding to improve health care in Saskatchewan.
Through Working together Under the agreement, the Government of Canada will first provide nearly $391 million to support Saskatchewan’s three-year action plan to achieve improvements in its health care system. This will:
- Improve access to family health services and acute and urgent care. supporting a payment model for Saskatchewan family physicians, expanding the Saskatoon Chronic Pain Clinic, growing the Virtual Triage Physician (VIBEX) program through Healthline 8-1-1, and creating new permanent acute care and care beds complex at Regina and Saskatoon hospitals to reduce excess capacity. .
- Support healthcare staff and help reduce delays by recruiting new healthcare workers, retention incentives for hard-to-hire positions, and increasing clinical placements to support the expansion of 550 post-secondary training positions.
- Expand the provision of culturally appropriate specialized care and support for mental health and substance use. through overdose outreach teams, continued expansion of police and crisis teams, increased addiction treatment spaces and rapid grief counseling by Family Services Saskatchewan, and support for youth who face mental health and addiction challenges.
- Modernize healthcare systems with health data and digital tools through continued investments in eHealth and healthcare information technology
Additionally, through the Aging with Dignity agreement, the Government of Canada will provide approximately $169.3 million to support Saskatchewan’s five-year action plan to enable residents to age with dignity close to home, with access to home care or care. in a safe place for the long term. term care center. This will:
- Improve home and community care services. through expand community health centers, outreach services and promote the patient medical home pilot model.
- Improve palliative care supporting the training of health workers in end-of-life care and increasing the number of health professionals to help patients and support palliative care.
- Strengthen the quality of long-term care and home care services. increasing the number of frontline and continuing care providers and improving compliance with long-term care standards through inspections and monitoring.
Progress on these broader initiatives and commitments will be measured against targets that Saskatchewan will report publicly on annually.
Through these new agreements, the Government of Saskatchewan will work with the Government of Canada to improve the way health information is collected, shared, used and communicated; expedite the recognition of foreign credentials for internationally trained health professionals; facilitate the mobility of key health professionals within Canada; and fulfill shared responsibilities to defend the Canada Health Law protect Canadians’ access to health care based on need, not ability to pay.
Recognizing the significant disparities in Indigenous health outcomes, the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are also committed to meaningfully engaging and working with Indigenous partners to support improved access to quality, culturally appropriate health care services. Saskatchewan’s action plan builds on continued engagement with its Indigenous partners and 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.
Saskatchewan and the federal government will continue to work together to improve health services for all patients across the province, including responding to the needs of Indigenous and other disadvantaged and underserved populations.