Better Care for the North, Now - Northern Health Care Matters

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Tell governments to support changes that will fix the Northern health care crisis.

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Who we are

We are advocates for Northern health care who know there is a better way to do things. We represent health care workers and their communities. This campaign is sponsored by the Northern Territories Federation of Labour, which advocates for and protects workers’ rights in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

We know health care isn’t working for the North.

Many Northern communities experience short staffing and medical centre care closures. People have to leave home and travel hundreds of kilometres to get help. Health care workers struggle with burnout and high turnover means patients rarely seem the same professional twice.

These challenges impact everyone — but there are solutions and things can change. Better care is possible.

Health care workers have ideas to improve the care they can provide that will actually reduce costs, but don’t feel government is listening to them.

Here’s what we can do, together.

Health care workers have made-in-the-North solutions that will improve patient care and cut costs for governments. Here’s what they would do.

  1. Make it faster and easier to connect Northerners with health care jobs. Common sense improvements like improving local training and recruitment, alongside making it easier and faster for workers to apply for jobs, will encourage employment and keep promising candidates in the North.
  2. Use every worker to make the health care system stronger. Temporary health care workers help — but by making better use of them and by providing better flexibility, training, and wages to local and permanent workers, care will improve and costs will go down.
  3. Give health care workers a seat at the table. Northern health care workers understand the crisis and are experts on delivering care in the North. Government needs to listen to their recommendations and work collaboratively with them to establish minimum nurse-to-patient ratios.

Read more about solutions Northern health care workers solutions.


Take Action

Tell governments to support changes that will fix the Northern health care crisis.

Northern health care professionals have solutions that will improve care and reduce costs. By listening to them, we can fix the health care system and ensure Northerners get the help they deserve and need.

Growing the number of locally trained health care workers and hiring them faster will have a long-term impact. Instead of spending millions on temporary contract workers from the south, we want governments to invest in training and supporting Northerners to provide care that works better in our communities.

Health care professionals should be heard and part of the solution when it comes to making health care safer and stronger for people.

If we mobilize enough people, we can force elected officials to listen to made-in-the-North solutions to the health care crisis.

Add your name now to join the campaign for better care for the North, now.