Federal funds must fix social issues to improve health, says architect of N.L.’s Health Accord – CBC
Fixing problems like poverty will do more to improve health outcomes long-term, says Sister Elizabeth Davis
Feb 08, 2023
One of the leading forces behind Newfoundland and Labrador’s 10-year health-care plan says new federal funding will help implement about half of their plan — but nothing will succeed without finding ways to address the other half.
Sister Elizabeth Davis, who co-chaired the team that produced the Health Accord, said the money — which includes an immediate $100 million per year increase in health funding from Ottawa — can address crises in emergency departments and surgery backlogs right now.
But she’s urging the federal and provincial governments to consider the larger societal problems outlined in the 266-page document she produced.
“These things are immediate and have to be addressed,” Davis said Tuesday. “But if you address them alone, you’re not really going to really effect any real change in health outcomes. So how do you mix responding to the emergency issues, if you want to put it this way, with fundamentally changing how we approach those issues? Getting that balance is going to be very important.”
