Made-in-the-North Solutions

Our health care system is in crisis and it’s not working for Northern patients or health care workers.

Health care staff are stretched thin, working in chronically understaffed conditions – leading to high levels of burnout and even unsafe care.

Staff shortages mean that some communities don’t have any reliable health care at all, with residents facing rotating closures of health centres.

High staff turnover and reliance on contracting out means that health care staff don’t become part of the community – meaning less continuous, culturally-informed care for patients.

Health care workers in the North have the energy, experience and ideas governments need to improve care and reduce costs – but often feel like they’re not being listened to.

For years, the go-to solution to this crisis has been to rely on contracting out to temporary health care workers from the south. They don’t stay long, and they’re often paid a lot more than resident health care workers.

But contracting out won’t solve the health care crisis:

• It’s extremely expensive, and that money doesn’t stay in the local economy;
• It doesn’t build up Northern health care capacity for the long term;
• It creates divides among health care workers; and
• It leaves Northerners without consistent, trusted care providers.

It’s time to change the way we do things. At the Northern Health Care Matters Campaign we believe that with the right approach, the health care Northerners need is within reach. Instead of spending money on expensive band-aid solutions, we can invest strategically to fix the system for good.

Taking targeted action in these three areas could make a big impact:

1. Make it faster and easier to connect Northerners with health care jobs. Improve outreach to young people, streamline the recruiting process, and bridge Northern graduates directly into jobs.
2. Use every worker to make the health care system stronger. Use contract staff to improve staffing ratios, prioritize those who want to return to the same community, give permanent staff more schedule flexibility and offer competitive compensation.
3. Give Northern health care workers a seat at the table. They know the system better than anyone and will be the best partners to help fix recruitment and retention, establish safe patient care ratios, and thrive with professional development.

By breaking the contracting-out cycle and investing in Northern health care workers, we can make sure that patients get the care they need, when they need it – and that governments save money in the long run. This is a doable plan to keep our health care dollars in the territories, and build healthier communities for everyone. Let’s work together to make it happen.

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