Supporting Canada's health workers by improving health workforce research, planning and data

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Health Canada (HC)

Jul 11, 2024, 10:10 ET

TORONTO, July 10, 2024 /CNW/ - Health workers are the backbone of the Canadian health care system; yet, they continue to face increased workloads and responsibilities. Now more than ever, there is a need to improve health workforce planning and advance research to better support health workers.

Today, the Honourable Ya'ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, and the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, on behalf of the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced more than $47 million in federal funding for innovative projects to help support Canada's health workforce, including:

  • $22.5 million to Health Workforce Canada to improve the accessibility of health workforce data and share practical solutions and innovative practices to address key gaps and implementation challenges in health workforce planning;
  • $13 million to the Medical Council of Canada to operate and expand the National Registry of Physicians to have a centralized location of streamlined physician data to improve informed decision making in the healthcare system;
  • More than $330,000 to the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada to improve physician licensing standards and processes in Canada; and
  • $11.6 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and partners to teams that are investigating ways to strengthen and support Canada's health workforce.

These investments will inform retention and recruitment practices, support the mobility of physicians across Canada to help communities facing shortages, and investigate solutions to strengthen the health workforce and positively impact policy and practice. These initiatives will also improve how information about Canada's health workforce is collected, used, and shared to support health employers and governments in the planning of health workforce across the country.

The Government of Canada will continue working with provinces and territories and other key partners to address health workforce challenges. Budgets 2023 and 2024 outlined the government's plan to invest close to $200 billion to improve health care for Canadians, which includes supporting health workforce through retention, recruitment, and planning.

Quotes

"Working together to support health workers is crucial to people in Canada receiving the care they need, when they need it. Through these initiatives to strengthen and support Canada's health workforce, our Government is working to improve access to timely and equitable care and better health outcomes for people in Canada."

The Honourable Mark Holland
Canada's Minister of Health

"Canada's health workforce does incredibly difficult work, often in complex and stressful environments. It is essential that we are there for our health workers with the support they need, just as they are there for all Canadians. The initiatives announced today will help us to better understand and support the mental health and well-being of Canada's health workforce so they can continue to deliver high-quality care across the country."

The Honourable Ya'ara Saks
Canada's Minister of Mental Health and Additions and Associate Minister of Health

"Providing quality care means building a resilient healthcare workforce. Today's announcements do just that by updating our data sharing capabilities while supporting and expanding workforce planning. We're changing how we approach care in Canada to produce better health outcomes for all Canadians."

The Honourable Randy Boissonnault
Canada's Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages

"System transformation to support a healthy and resilient workforce requires a collaborative, evidence-informed effort tailored to the needs of both workforce members and health systems. These team grants are well positioned to bring evidence to bear on this transformation and the hub is ideally suited to support the timely dissemination, exchange, and uptake of evidence into policy and practice. We look forward to witnessing the impact this research will have on our health systems."

Dr. Rick Glazier, Scientific Director
CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research

"Enhanced information is needed to support analysis of the issues everyone is facing so that planning, building and support of a strong, healthy workforce can continue across the country. Health Workforce Canada is working hard with our partners to strengthen health workforce data, to improve access to timely data, and to share effective health workforce innovations and solutions."

Deb Gordon, Interim CEO
Health Workforce Canada

"We are grateful for the Government of Canada's ongoing support of the National Registry of Physicians (NRP). The first database of its kind in Canada, the NRP fills a significant information gap by providing a single snapshot of physicians who are licensed for independent practice in Canada and the jurisdiction(s) in which they practice.  For patients in Canada, this enables increased physician mobility and that physicians will be able to offer care more easily where it is needed."

Viren N. Naik MD MEd MBA FRCPC, Chief Executive Officer
Medical Council of Canada

"The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada is grateful to have received support from Health Canada to contribute to improving access to care. By optimizing physician licensing standards and processes, aligning and streamlining standards for trainees, and examining the successes and opportunities of the Atlantic Registry, this project allows us to lay the groundwork for expanding multi-jurisdictional registration and improving licensure for international medical graduates and internationally trained physicians."

Dr. George Carruthers, President
Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island

Quick Facts

  • A February 2024 report from the OurCare Initiative found that 6.5 million Canadians—about 22% of the adult population—do not currently have a family doctor. The State of the Health Workforce in Canada, 2022 also confirmed a national shortage of 60,000 registered nurses. Canada anticipates a shortage of 78,000 doctors by 2031 and 117,600 nurses by 2030.
  • Funding for the new research investment is provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and Michael Smith Health Research BC. This is CIHR's largest investment in health workforce research, and the projects funded through this program align with the key themes identified by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Assessment on Health Human Resources, which was commissioned by Health Canada.
  • This announcement is part of the Government of Canada's larger and ongoing efforts to support the health workforce, including:
    • A federal, provincial and territorial statement on supporting Canada's health workforce which outlines collaborative actions underway to address challenges facing Canada's health workforce, including reducing the time it takes for internationally educated health professionals to join our health workforce.
    • Welcoming the establishment of Health Workforce Canada (HWC), a new, independent organization that is working closely with Canadian Institute for Heath Information (CIHI) and all health care system stakeholders to improve the collection and sharing of health workforce data and share practical and innovative solutions.
    • An announcement of a 50% increase to the maximum amount of forgivable Canada Student Loans for eligible family physicians, family medicine residents, nurses and nurse practitioners working in under-served rural and remote communities. This change will help approximately 3,000 doctors and nurses in the first year of implementation, reaching up to 8,000 per year by 2032–2033.
    • An investment of up to $86 million to 15 organizations across Canada to increase capacity for foreign credential recognition of approximately 6,600 internationally educated health professionals. This investment will support highly educated and skilled immigrants receive proper recognition for their international credentials.
    • An investment of $3.5 million over five years to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) to develop a National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being to help improve health workforce retention.
    • Initiatives to help internationally educated health professionals put their skills to work in Canada more quickly, including $1.49 million to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada to expand and expedite the specialist Practice Eligibility Route (PER) for International Medical Graduates, and $500,000 to the Medical Council of Canada to better understand the barriers to existing programs.
    • A plan, outlined in Budget 2023, to invest close to $200 billion over 10 years to improve health care for Canadians.
    • The first-ever launch of category-based selection for Canada's flagship economic immigration management system, Express Entry. Category-based selection allows Canada to issue invitations to apply to prospective permanent residents with specific work experience, including in health care.
    • An investment of $2.4 million in the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) to support the implementation and evaluation of a National Nurse Residency Program which aims to support newly graduated registered nurses (RNs) by helping them effectively manage the transition from classroom to workplace through competency-based workshops and mentorship.

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SOURCE Health Canada (HC)

Contacts: Matthew Kronberg, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, 343-552-5654; Media Relations, Health Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]; Media Relations: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, [email protected]

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Health Canada (HC)