Citizens panel recommends Indigenous health dept.

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This article was published 12/12/2023 (891 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE creation of an Indigenous health department and a provincial health ombudsperson are among 37 new recommendations put forward by a public panel seeking improvements in the Manitoba health-care system.

The wide-ranging list — released today — shows demand for a durable plastic Manitoba health card, electronic medical records that are easily accessible by patients and doctors and clear accountability for health-care decisions and discrimination by care providers.

The panel also wants internet-based mobile clinics introduced in remote and rural Manitoba so patients don’t have to travel more than an hour to get routine medical care.

Dr. Amanda Condon, OurCare Manitoba co-lead and a family physician in Notre Dame de Lourdes, said the recommendations can guide local health professionals and policy makers as they rethink the delivery of primary care in Manitoba.

Unlike internal system reports where patients’ opinions are often missing, Condon said these recommendations were reached by an “informed public.”

“This isn’t decision makers and policy makers that are saying these things; these are people in Manitoba,” said Condon, an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Manitoba. “They all learned from and with each other to develop the recommendations — and I think that that patient voice is very powerful.”

Thirty randomly selected volunteers spent about 30 hours together this fall and came to a consensus for changes they would like to see in provincial primary care.

The 73-page report is being released today as part of a national Our Care project, spearheaded by Toronto family doctor and primary care researcher Dr. Tara Kiran.

Volunteer panels in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia are also participating. Recommendations are expected to be included in a national report in the new year.

Panels across the five provinces brought up several common concerns, but the Manitoba panel was specifically selected to represent diverse perspectives reflective of its large First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations.

Putting out a call to develop a dedicated Indigenous health department in Manitoba was an “undisputed priority” for the group, the report states.

The project focused on primary care and family doctor visits, seeing them as the starting point for most patients and the foundation of the provincial health system.

The recommendations aren’t binding to any health system leaders, but many provincial and national organizations, including Shared Health and Health Canada, are involved in the OurCare project. The report’s authors stated they didn’t want their work to be ignored.

“This cannot be a report that ends up on a shelf. We expect to have our collective voice acknowledged, truly heard and acted upon,” the report states.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Report: Priorities Panel on Primary Care