Today I am pleased to present the main estimates for the Department of Health and Social Services to the Committee of the Whole.
In the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the department is requesting a total of nearly $247 million. This represents an additional $13 million (or 5.6 percent) over last year's main estimates.
As I stated to the Standing Committee on Social Programs, these are challenging times for the government and for the department. As a government, we are burdened with a rising debt, and as a department we are burdened with a health and social services system that needs a cash infusion to make fundamental and lasting improvements.
In light of the government's debt position, this department is committed to meet the budgetary challenge of controlling costs, while maintaining existing services. Initially, the department's 2004-2005 requirements were determined to be approximately $249.7 million. However, to meet the targets we were given to achieve the GNWT's overall required reductions, the department implemented $2.7 million in reductions.
The increase from last year's main estimates to this year's is due solely to keeping pace with the cost of maintaining our existing system of services year to year. These increases include investments into the workforce, such as collective agreement increases and investment to our physician and specialist workforce and higher costs relating to foster care for our children and youth, placement of adults and children in southern facilities for specialized care, medical travel, supplementary health travel and supplies and purchased services.
The department's budget request of $247 million will be allocated between five main areas of activity.
- • $31.8 million is allocated to program delivery support, which provides the support and assistance needed through the system for frontline staff to provide services to NWT people. Support includes recruitment, training, systems development and support, as well as administration of health insurance programs and authority operations.
- • The delivery of health services programs will cost $132.2 million. These programs cover a wide range of services such as public health, chronic care, inpatient and outpatient care, and physician services. These services are primarily delivered through health centres, public health clinics, physician clinics, hospitals and insured facilities in southern Canada.
- • The supplementary health programs budget of $15.1 million will cover additional benefits provided to NWT residents in accordance with various policies. These programs include extended health benefits, Metis health benefits, indigent health benefits and medical travel benefits.
- • Community health programs has a budget of $61.6 million. This program area has the primary goal of developing community wellness through health promotion activities. These include activities aimed at giving children the best possible start in life, and initiatives that target at-risk individuals and families.
- • The directorate funding of $6.3 million includes system-wide leadership and development, planning, monitoring and evaluation, policy and legislation review and development, and administrative support for the department.
As Members are aware, the federal government has identified new health care funding for each jurisdiction. For us, this amounts to just over $5 million in 2004-05. Though this new cash infusion is welcomed, it is a mixture of one-time-only and ongoing funding. This government needs to continue pressuring the federal government to examine the funding requirements of our system. It is clear that these resources will only partially address the much-needed long-standing improvements that will ensure the future wellbeing of our people.
As I have stated in the past, the people of the Northwest Territories are our greatest resource. Continuing development of the NWT, whether it is social, economic or political development, is dependent upon the strength and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities. The programs and services offered by the department and authorities are there so that residents can receive treatment when they are ill, supports when they need assistance during difficult times and information to make informed choices instead of risky ones. But our system of health and social services must be more than a safety net. It must be a means by which people empower themselves to become healthier and more active in creating wellbeing for their families and communities. Investments we make
to the network of services are investments we make into NWT people.
For this reason, the department and authorities will continue to implement the Health and Social Services System Action Plan 2002-2005. We are now in our third year of this plan and we have made significant progress in spite of the financial challenges already stated. For example, we have developed an integrated service delivery model that provides a blueprint of how health and social services should be provided in the NWT, including how the network of agencies and professionals should collaborate and integrate services. We are in the process of restructuring the health and social services system so that the department and authorities are better able to fulfill their mandates and serve communities better. We are introducing system-wide mechanisms for planning, reporting, financial accountability, human resource development and informatics management.
These improvements are not necessarily "visible" to the public, but they are a critical foundation for the delivery of responsive, high quality programming. With these structural improvements in place, activities for the 2004-05 year can shift to the next phase of the action plan, which focuses on improving programs and services, particularly in the areas of prevention and promotion. A good example is the introduction of a new kind of service to NWT residents, a 1-800 call centre that will provide the public with round-the-clock advice and information from health professionals. This call centre will be in addition to the current frontline services available in our communities and will be activated this spring. In addition, our budget reflects investment into mental health and addictions services, and we are implementing a system-wide human resource plan so that professionals are in place to deliver frontline services.
I welcome the opportunity to answer any questions committee Members may have as you consider the main estimates for Health and Social Services. Thank you, Madam Chair.