Health ministers from across the country wrapped up two days of meetings in Charlottetown Thursday, and the federal side is taking home what it calls five 'concrete' priorities as a result of it.'We need to recruit, retain and really look at training more health-care workers,' says the Canadian Medical Association.
A reduction in the time it takes for internationally educated health professionals to begin working in Canada, by allowing them to begin the credential process overseas. There will also be a 90-day standard for provincial professional colleges to recognize those credentials once the workers are here;
The two-day conference came at a time when many are saying Canada's health-care situation is in crisis. As well as the groups representing doctors and nurses, the ministers also heard from other health-care professionals and organizations from across the country. "We need better long-term care, long-term complex care for people, better functional care for the elderly. Then people who are in hospitals, that are very ill and then get treated and who are stable again, have a place to go," Howlett told"Because, right now, any of our hospitals in the country, 10 to 25 per cent of the patients in hospital are ready to go home and can't go home.
She also said the association would like to see more collaborative practices where teams of health-care providers — made up of pharmacists and physiotherapists as well as nurse practitioners and doctors — work together to provide patient care rather than have individual care rely on a single health-care provider.