Should doctors campaign more with nurses and others for national licences?

With the straining health system creaking nightly on evening newscasts, last month presented a golden chance for Ottawa and the provinces to reach an agreement on more health funding. But that isn’t what happened when Canadian health ministers met in Vancouver. The feds came to the meeting saying they’d increase health funding to the provinces (by an unspecified amount) if the provinces would sign on to: a pan-Canadian health-human-resources action plan, and a pan-Canadian health data strategy Read: Fixing the national licence crisis The provinces said “no,” falling back on their traditional argument, which goes like this: “You guys were supposed to pay for 50% of health system costs (the feds currently pay 22%). We have the responsibility, as outlined in the constitution, with delivering healthcare. You haven’t been giving us that money, so don’t question how we spend it, because each province has different needs.” The way ahead is surely for the provinces to come up with a counter offer—some kind of “Accord of the Federation.” They’d outline joint measures they think would be additive. Even if not every province agreed, it would have weight if a group of provinces said, “We’ve thought about it and we’ll all do these following things—but you, Ottawa, have to raise your pay per cent to 33% of health costs.” Physicians have a lot to gain if they can convince the provinces that pan-national licensure is something the provinces should include as part of this “accord.” How to do this? Former Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil, during the first event in the CMA’s Health Summit Series: Bold Choices in Health Care, said: “Strengthen your relationship with your sister organizations—and I would do it provincially—and take them into premiers’ offices, into ministers of health’s offices, and lay out a consistent plan that’s well thought out.” NcNeil was talking about the need to change the delivery model in Canada—he argued “if we don’t shift the delivery model, I don’t see us making progress”—but pan-national licences have to be for nurses and other health providers as well as doctors. A unified voice from health professionals has the potential to produce seismic change.

Should doctors campaign more with nurses and others for national licences?

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