The Provincial Government today announced a request for proposals will be issued next week to help ensure emergency rooms throughout the province remain open, along with ensuring Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that have identified themselves as not having a primary care provider with Patient Connect NL can be seen by an appropriate health care professional.
The Department of Health and Community Services has been working with the regional health authorities and Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information to develop a request for proposals for virtual care that includes:
- Virtual emergency room services to assist with reducing closures and diversions. In particular, this service will be an added tool the regional health authorities can utilize to ensure rural (Category B) emergency rooms remain open; and
- Virtual primary care services to assist patients who are not attached to a primary care provider.
This is the latest collaborative initiative between the Provincial Government and the regional health authorities in their shared effort to address the health professional shortage in Newfoundland and Labrador. Other recent measures can be found in the backgrounder below.
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“Our government is committed to providing much needed primary care access to residents without a family doctor. We are also continuing to work with our health care stakeholders to find new and innovative ways to ensure emergency rooms remain open. The request for proposals will be issued next week outlining the details on how this virtual service will be provided to the public.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services
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Tina Coffey
Health and Community Services
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BACKGROUNDER
Recent Measures to Address the Shortage of Health Care Professionals
- A one-year pilot program to help entice retired family physicians to come back to the workforce.
- Committed to a suite of measures to expand the supply of health care professionals: creation of new collaborative community team clinics; increase in virtual care services to assist with the provision of urgent care; commitment to further increase the number of graduates from Licensed Practical Nursing Programs by 40 per cent, and Personal Care Attendant Programs by 20 per cent.
- Two new programs launched to support family doctors in the province and help improve access to primary health care:
- The New Family Physician Income Guarantee initiative guarantees a minimum income equivalent to that of a salaried family physician to new family doctors who bill on a fee for service basis and open a family practice clinic – or join an established clinic – for the first two years of their practice. This will ease some of the uncertainty associated with the business aspects of opening a clinic by increasing financial certainty. Funding recipients will be required to enter into a two-year return-in-service agreement with government.
- The Family Practice Start-Up Program will provide $150,000 to new family practice physicians who open a family practice clinic, or join an existing family practice in the community, and stay in the practice for five years. Recipients who are approved for both programs must sign a five-year return-in-service agreement with government. Additionally, both programs will be linked to establishing a patient roster in the community, as well as the provision of after-hours care. This is the highest incentive offered to family physicians at this time in Atlantic Canada.
- Initiatives announced in March 2022 to address the challenges facing nurses in the province, including the nursing think tank; Request for proposals for core staffing review, health human resources plan, workforce research; and an Internationally Educated Nurses Bursary.
- A new Assistant Deputy Minister for the recruitment and retention office has been hired and the office has been established within the Department of Health and Community Services.
- An additional five undergraduate seats have been added to the Memorial University’s medical School for Newfoundland and Labrador students.
- Launched the Extraordinary Every Day, a health care campaign aimed at recruiting and retaining health care professionals.
- Staffing in the Regional Health Authorities has been enhanced to further support recruitment and retention efforts.
- A number of financial incentives and employee supports have been implemented to help address the immediate nursing workforce challenges and help stabilize the workforce.
- Compensation rates for covering emergency rooms in smaller rural health centres (category B facilities) have been increased as a temporary measure until October 31, 2022 to help retain existing physicians at these sites, as well as attract other locum physicians during periods of vacancy. As well, in Labrador, Category A rates were increased in the last MOA.