Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to thank my colleague for letting me talk.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Health and Social Services has also identified growing demand for home and community care staff, as well as training gaps for home support workers and resident care aides. While training of NWT residents for jobs in health care was not part of the Auditor General’s review, it is a key element in the stability and quality of a workforce that will of necessity include many southern hires. The committee was pleased with the input received from DHSS on this topic.
Successful training of northern health workers requires solid collaboration between DHSS, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE), and Aurora College. Training and educational opportunities delivered by ECE and Aurora College must be flexible enough to meet the needs of the health system, and produce graduates who meet accepted standards. The committee strongly supports the development of homegrown health care workers who have the added advantage of knowing local people, traditions and communities. In this area, Department of Health and Social Services, Education, Culture and Employment and Aurora College should build a strong cooperative relationship that will advance the goals set out in “A Foundation for Change”.
Measuring and Reporting on Performance
Only limited information is reported to the Legislative Assembly and the public on the performance of the NWT health care system. The Auditor General found the lack of system-wide performance indicators at the root of this problem.
There is still no agreement between the Department of Health and Social Services and health authorities on a set of performance indicators, yet these indicators are essential, along
with a risk management framework, to system-wide evaluation.
Department of Health and Social Services has not published a territorial Health Status Report since 2005, although a new one is in the works. Overall, there is no clear picture of how the health system is performing. Measurement and reporting must be improved. Given these facts, the committee emphasizes that Department of Health and Social Services must remedy this by 2012-13, as agreed in paragraph 81 of the Auditor General’s report.
Recommendation 5
The Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services and the health authorities:
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develop a set of system-wide performance indicators and identify key data requirements;
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develop a program evaluation plan setting out areas it plans to evaluate; and
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regularly inform the Legislative Assembly and the public about the performance of the NWT health care system.
I’d like to pass the conclusion of this report on to my colleague Mr. Menicoche. Thank you.