October 15 Bulletin: Rural and Northern Health Care Panel

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

On July 28th, 2009, Ontario officially announced the formation of a Rural and Northern Health Care Panel as stage one of the development of a Rural and Northern Health Care Framework. The mandate of this panel is to identify a vision, strategic directions and principles to assist Government and LHINs in ensuring quality of care as defined by access to care in rural and northern communities. The panel is charged with the task of conducting an environmental scan of existing historical and current work underway, assessing the current state of rural and northern health and producing a final report to be submitted to the Minister.Stages two and three of the staged approach are; Broader Community Consultations and Development of a Provincial Framework/Plan. These stages will commence upon completion of the panel’s work.

The panel would appreciate your input and has formulated the following five questions for your consideration. If you would like to provide the panel members with your insight, please submit your comments to: ServiceOntario, INFOline. infoline.moh[at]ontario.ca

Rural and Northern Health Care Panel – Questions for Consideration

• What is the single greatest challenge or barrier to accessing health care services in rural, remote and northern areas today?
• What is the single most important change that you feel will have the most impact in improving access to health care in rural, remote and northern areas?
• What do you feel should be the founding vision for improving access to health care in rural, remote and northern areas of the province?
• What are the guiding principles that are needed to support the province and LHINs in their decision making?
• Do you have any other comments that you feel are important for the Panel to consider at this early stage of planning?

LEARN MORE

• Rural and Northern Health Care Panel Terms of Reference – PDF
• McGuinty Government Strengthening Health Care In Rural And Northern Communities

For More Information

If you are a reporter with a question for a story, or with comments about how this News Room section could serve you better, send us an e-mail at: media[at]moh.gov.on.ca

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