Our future health and social services > have your say

You need to go to the very basics . 1.) Provide affordable housing and rentals opportunities for ALL healthcare providers 2.) EMS staffing

I am a nurse providing healthcare throughout the territory for a few years now. It is very difficult to attract staff to the Yukon and to retain it. One main factor always comes up and that is housing . The lack of rentals/ housing and therefore high living costs make people think twice wanting to come or to stay. As well, we cannot provide adequate health care in the communities if we do not have EMS staff . There is a shortage of EMS staff throughout the Territory . Again, please look at the basics . No staff = no healthcare

Support a Community paramedicine healthcare model.

It allows paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to operate in expanded roles by collaborating with public health and primary healthcare and preventive services to underserved populations in the community.

Overusers of the system

There needs to be a focus on accommodating the small number of individuals who acount for majority of hospital visits. These individuals often often homeless and have addiction issues. Unless the system builds in a care model to accommodate their needs, they will continue to be a financial strain on government resources. Watching what is happening on Alexander Street goes beyond the YG Center. There is Skookies, the food bank and the YG Center and between those three facilities, I see the booze and the drugs daily. I see the people so drunk they can’t walk. And another ambulance is called. And once they are discharged from wherever they go, they’ll be back with their friends on Alexander, repeating the cycle. You can’t fix the medical problems without dealing with these social issues as well.

WGH should be part H&SS - would save money, improve communication, assist with retention

Patients need a voice in their healthcare and right now have none. We need active representatives that are already in place. We need a voice

I have had to leave the healthcare after a serious adverse drug reaction left pharmaceutically obliterated in a bedridden state of poly pharmaceutical dementia with sensory overload so bad it was like Autism at 45. The doctors and nurses watched it happen and then I discovered their is no policy for this injury and a huge lack of understanding on this injury. I found that when I was pleading for help to everyone associated in healthcare, they all just hid and most would not even reply. These directors, politicians and medical council need to be a voice for patients with unmet needs and are not. Our political leaders have handled the questions the same way. Six years later, I am still being ignored. Coincidentally, after three years, I had an intervention with my doctors and was allowed to stop the mass prescribing and within four days started to improve. Had I been unable to afford a private assessment, like many others, you are dismissed and belittled. Had this injury been accepted and handled immediately, I would likely be back to work instead of being over prescribed for three more years for an adverse drug reaction and only deteriorating. This injury has a suicide rate of four times the average and I can see exactly why. ADRCANADA.ORG This is not a blaming situation but showing how concerns are addressed when there is no policy. I am not sure what kind of risk assessment would have been done for mass prescribing to have the view that the injury never happens and if it is understood, maybe playing games with patients pretending it doesn't ever happen is not the best approach if patient care is a priority.

An idea the Panel heard: what do you think?

Provide more care options, such as virtual care through computer or mobile screening, so Yukoners can receive care closer to home or in their own homes and don’t have to travel.

Support a Whole Community Palliative Care Rounds

Inter-professional Whole Community Palliative Care rounds are a regular, local communication method that facilitates a whole care-continuum discussion about person and family centered care needs, and which may otherwise become fragmented by sector and discipline. It enables the inter-professional team to collaborate on a weekly basis to offer their collective clinical expertise and knowledge to address the immediate palliative needs of persons and families brought forward for consultation.

Support for the Care Giver

A palliative patient staying at home is a wonderful idea if the family is able to support that person not just in a place to stay but financially, physically, and emotionally. Home care in the Yukon is amazing and I have seen it first hand, they were compassionate, professional and a great support for my mother. They were also very concerned for me and I appreciated all they wanted to do while I cared for my dying mother. My main concern for others is the financial strain that it can put on the families. My mother was constantly worried about being a burden to my work when I needed to stay at home and for our finances. While there is compassionate care leave, it is not enough for a person to pay all of their bills plus the ones that may arise from caring for a family member. Also this benefit through EI stops once the family member has passed. How do the caregivers grieve?? They have usually used all of their sick, vacation and other leave before having left work if they were lucky enough to have such benefits to begin with. I think if the sick family member knew that those caring for them would be cared for in the long run it would allow all those involved to take the time to be together, make memories, and to comfort one another.

Rural Yukon communities do not have equal access to Palliative Care services/support compared to Whitehorse.

An idea the Panel heard: what do you think?

Focus on a prevention and wellness approach that includes investments in prenatal care, early childhood development, health promotion and early screening and intervention for Yukoners.

An idea the Panel heard: what do you think?

Make child care more accessible and affordable for families.