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Health Canada press release ...

Canada's New Government Invests $3.7M to Establish a Third Wait Times Guarantee: for First Nations Diabetes Care

WINNIPEG, MB, Jan. 5 - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today announced that Health Canada is developing an innovative pilot project in partnership with Saint Elizabeth Health Care and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, to establish a wait times guarantee for First Nations people living on reserve in Manitoba who face debilitating infections and possible amputations arising from diabetes.

Diabetes rates are high among Canada's First Nations and they also have a higher rate of complications such as vision loss, kidney damage and foot ulcers leading to amputations. More than 90 per cent of lower limb loss among Manitoba First Nations occurs in those with diabetes. This compares with 10 percent of the general Canadian population. These facts underscore the need to improve First Nations access to diabetes care.

"This wait time guarantee pilot project for First Nations diabetes care will benefit Manitoba First Nations and all Canadians," said Minister Clement. "This third wait time guarantee clearly demonstrates that Canada's New Government is delivering on its promise to make sure that all Canadians receive essential medical treatment within clinically acceptable waiting times."

The project brings expertise from Saint Elizabeth Health Care, a non-profit organization, to work in an innovative partnership with First Nations and the federal government toward an effective solution to this serious problem.

"This pilot project will improve accessibility to treatment for First Nations in Manitoba and should reduce the need for debilitating amputations," said Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Evans.

"This partnership with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs builds on our ongoing work with First Nations. The current gap in health and quality of life between Aboriginal people and other Canadians requires action. With this initiative, we're moving ahead," said Michael Decter, Chair of the Board Saint Elizabeth Health Care.

Shirlee Sharkey, president and CEO of Saint Elizabeth Health Care, added: "We are pleased that the Honourable Tony Clement is supporting innovative approaches to care, understands the importance of training to ensure the successful application of clinical guidelines and we hope to see better wound care and patient outcomes as a result."

This guarantee will test a defined time frame for diabetic foot ulcer care and establish a set of alternative care options, should that time frame be exceeded. Establishing these alternate care options should ultimately lead to certainty, clarity and confidence for Canadians that their health care system will be there for them when they need it.

The goal of the project is to reduce the damage caused by foot ulcers in individuals with diabetes. The key elements of the project will be: the establishment of data collection tools; consultation with patients, health care providers, experts and stakeholders; and reporting on the data collected and the effectiveness of the Patient Wait Times Guarantee.

The eighteen-month pilot project will be implemented in selected First Nations communities in Manitoba in partnership with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Saint Elizabeth Health Care will work with these communities, Health Canada staff and other health professionals in areas related to training, the transfer of knowledge, and the implementation of changes to improve practices.

The benefits of this project will be numerous:

• an increase in the emotional and physical wellbeing of families and individuals - which keeps people out of the hospitals;
• a decrease in unnecessary transportation;
• savings to the health care system; and
• the knowledge that will be shared throughout our health care system, which will help countless other patients who need wound care.

Saint Elizabeth Health Care is a non-profit charitable organization that is a leader in Canada in identifying gaps, aligning resources, and maximizing resources to the benefit of health care providers and - most importantly - patients. In terms of direct service, they currently make 1.5 million wound care visits per year and have worked closely with Manitoba First Nations to improve health service delivery.

For further information: Media Enquiries: Carole Saindon, Health Canada, (613) 957-1588; Erik Waddell, Office of the Honourable Tony Clement, Federal Minister of Health, (613) 957-0200; Public Enquiries: (613) 957-2991, 1-866 225-0709; Health Canada news releases are available on the Internet at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/media