April 28, 2015 - Ottawa - Health Canada
Today, the Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada was tabled in Parliament.
We accept the recommendations of this report and our Government remains committed to working with First Nations, as well as with provincial and territorial governments. We will continue to ensure that Health Canada nursing staff are equipped to provide effective, sustainable, and appropriate health programs and services for First Nations living in remote communities across Canada.
Priority number one is ensuring that remote First Nations communities have access to healthcare providers. This Government continues to foster this goal through providing student loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses who work in these communities. We are also implementing a Nursing Recruitment and Retention Strategy to provide a stable workforce and increase Health Canada’s capacity to access training opportunities while ensuring the needs of the communities are met. Additionally, Economic Action Plan 2015 committed $12 million over three years to Indspire, to provide post-secondary scholarships and bursaries for First Nations and Inuit students pursuing post-secondary education, including health-related careers.
Nurses working in these communities are highly educated and qualified individuals – every single one has been trained and certified to be a healthcare provider. Health Canada is committed to ensuring that nurses working in remote First Nations communities meet its established public service requirements on top of these workers’ already robust credentials and has already increased training efforts.
Nurses in remote settings are usually the first point of contact to the health care system for community members and often the only permanent professional health service providers in these communities. In addition to providing routine clinical care services, nurses also respond 24/7 to emergency medical situations such as heart attacks, strokes, and trauma. Health Canada will continue to work with provincial partners to explore opportunities in developing common scope of practice definitions to address the more specific needs of rural and remote communities.
Primary care services provided in remote and isolated communities are augmented by a range of additional health supports. In total, Health Canada invests more than $2.5 billion every year to support the health of First Nations living on-reserve through culturally-based health promotion and disease prevention programs; primary, home, and community care services; initiatives and strategies to address communicable diseases and address environmental health issues; and it provides non-insured health benefits to supplement those provided by provinces, territories, and private insurers, including dental, medication coverage, and medical transportation. Economic Action Plan 2015 included an additional $2 million annually on an ongoing basis, to enhance mental wellness team supports in First Nations communities.
In addition, this Government is investing in First Nation and Inuit health research through the Canadian Institute of Health Research’s Pathways to Health Equity for Aboriginal Peoples initiative, a $25 million, long-term Aboriginal health research initiative.
Nearly two years ago, a new era in healthcare for First Nations was marked with the beginning of the First Nations Health Authority in British Columbia. History was made and First Nations in British Columbia were empowered to promote better health, more responsive, integrated and innovative model of health service delivery. The British Columbia Tripartite agreement will contribute to the development of healthier and more sustainable First Nations communities and one which is hoped to be implemented further across the country.
Our Government will continue to work closely with First Nations organizations, health professionals and provincial health service providers. Together, we will continue to strengthen access to quality care for First Nations living in remote and isolated communities.
Health Canada First Nations and Inuit Branch Program Overview
Michael Bolkenius
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
Federal Minister of Health
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