Michelle DaCruz
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 20/02) - The health care system in the North has "failed aboriginal people," the head of the NWT medical association told a federal commission on health care last week.

What they said "At every stop on the tour concerns about staff shortages were raised. This came through loud and clear in Yellowknife today. Louder here than almost anywhere else in the North." - Commissioner Roy Romanow "More money is necessary for prevention programs so that root causes of addictions can be harnessed and arrested." - Kathy Paul-Drover, Tree of Peace Friendship Centre "I would hate to see disparity between health care plans also contributing to economic migration." - Brendan Bell, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Social Programs "Women..represent the majority of paid and unpaid health care providers...therefore it is essential that women's experiences and voices be instrumental in shaping...Canada's health care system." - Barbara Saunders, executive director, Status of Women Council of the NWT "Finding nurses to fill 24-hour shifts and health centre positions has become a nightmare. We call in tired and overworked lab and radiology technicians who have no relief personnel in the community." - Suzette Montreuil, NWT Federation of Labour "Our country's health care system is respected throughout the world. And we want it to be that way into the future." - Heather Chang, Canadian College of Health Services Executives

Dr. Ken Seethram was one of 16 presenters before the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada in Yellowknife on Thursday.

Seethram recommended initiatives to increase the amount of aboriginals in the North's health care workforce, and to increase research into aboriginal health issues.

Concerns raised by Northerners said, Commissioner Roy Romanow, are common to the rest of Canada like staffing shortages, geographical challenges to services, the need for homecare, a national policy on pharmacare, and a call for amendments to the Canada Health Act.

The current health care plan in the NWT, Romanow said, is one of the most comprehensive he has seen in Canada, especially in regard to the Department of Health and Social Services Action Plan, but he understands how geographical challenges can impact the system.

"At every stop on the tour concerns about staff shortages were raised. This came through loud and clear in Yellowknife today. Louder here than almost anywhere else in the North," Romanow said.

Premier Stephen Kakfwi chastised the federal government for shirking its responsibility for health care needs, especially in regard to aboriginal people, onto the shoulders of the territorial government.

"Aboriginal people across the country are struggling to access basic health services," said Kakfwi.

He called nurses "the backbone of the health care (system)," especially in the NWT where residents in outlying communities depend solely on their care.

"You can appreciate how much more impact this shortage of nurses has on the health care system in the NWT," said Kakfwi.

The premier recommended a national strategy to deal with the recruitment and retention of nurses.

Kakfwi said the North needs federal health care funding based on real need -- not per capita with its sparse population.

At the very least Health and Social Services Minister Michael Miltenberger called on the Federal government to restore Canadian Health and Social Transfer payments to 1994-95 levels.

Prevention programs needed

Sylvia Stard, president of the NWT Registered Nurses Association also pointed to the importance of using health dollars for long-term, high profile health promotion and disease prevention programs that are geared specifically to the North.

"Training of Northern residents to develop and deliver such programming is key to the success of prevention programs," said Stard.

Gisela Becker of the Midwives Association of the NWT and Nunavut asked the commission to recommend enacting midwifery legislation in both territories, and providing comprehensive access to women in every community.

The commission was launched by the federal government April 3, 2001. Prime Minister Jean Chretien said at the time it was in response to issues raised at the First Ministers conference in September 2000.

Its mandate is to examine the sustainability of the publicly-funded, and publicly administered Canadian health care system.

Romanow was in Yellowknife, one of the last stops in countrywide hearings on the future of health care in Canada. The hearings wrap up in Toronto May 31.