Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell and NLHS CEO Dr. Pat Parfrey (VOCM News)
The province is adding nurses and doctors to the point where the system is where it was pre-Covid in 2019. Nurse vacancies have dropped from 695 three years ago to 280 currently, while the province has 7 per cent more doctors.
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services CEO Pat Parfrey gave an update today on the Health Accord, a transformation of how health care is done.
All but two of the 59 recommendations in the accord either have been implemented, or have been started. Parfrey says they are ahead of schedule on the 5-year plan.
Over 112,000 people are now connected to 21 family care teams. The province hopes to have 35 such teams in place in the next few years.
The province is chipping away at some surgical waitlists, now doing more people than are entering the system.
Newfoundland and Labrador is close to signing a 10-year contract with Medavie to run an integrated road and air ambulance system.
Cancer stats for NL per NLHS (VOCM News)
NL has highest cancer mortality rate in Canada
This province has the highest cancer mortality rate in the country, but Parfrey says that’s not reflective of a lack of care – it’s because the incidence of cancer is the highest in Canada.
The biggest immediate challenge for NLHS is the implementation of a new information system, and training 23,000 employees on how to use it by next April.