Our future health and social services > have your say

Presently patients with chronic conditions are unable to access physiotherapy, unless they can pay for it. This service needs to be provided

Educate people about the cost of services they use

Public awareness campaign something like “did you know it costs our health care system $xxx when you visit ER and only $xxx when you see your family doctor instead? If it’s not an emergency, your doctor is the one to see”

Dentistry as part of health

For many, poor oral health affects their overall health. For example, Gum disease links to heart problems. Inflamed gums can trigger preterm labour. These health problems lead to much higher costs and medical expenditures than the cost of two cleanings per year and the occasional filling. Let’s have a comprehensive healthcare system that includes dentistry.

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.

A collaborative Care Model would provide the best care for Yukoners

We have allied health professionals who aren't presently able to practice to their full scope & so Yukoners are not getting the best care at the best cost. For those with chronic pain, utilizing physiotherapists skill at identifying issues that can be resolved without medications would decrease risk of addiction for some of those patients. Helping these patients access paid physio services could result in better outcomes and be a better use of health care dollars than helping them overcome possible drug addiction at a later date. Physiotherapists would be valuable members in a collaborative care model. Nurse practitioners are trained to diagnose and so could take the load off of primary care physicians which may allow all Yukoners to have a physician. Pharmacists can now adapt and extend prescriptions which also can take the load off of physicians as well as improve care to Yukoners.

Do a 'simple' walk through from office appt/lab/xray/pre-op/SDC/admit/discharge - ID the gaps of info from a pt. perspective

Medical travel

I have a box office at the Carcross cut off. I was surprised that I get $10.00 every time I access services at WGH. I suppose that everyone with a box office on either side of the city, and people in Marsh Lake get the same. Why? Every single person living in these areas need to go to Whitehorse for everything. Why do they need to get paid for medical travel? I work at WGH. I go there every day, and still I get $10.00 when I have blood work. Who came up with this idea and how much does that cost the taxpayer. I would wager that most people in these areas commute to Whitehorse daily. Stop these payments and use the money on people that actually need it.

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.

Participation barriers

Physical access to living space entryways (steps-snow-etc) in building concepts and design, need bedroom and bathroom on main floor living space with kitchen and laundry, access to and support for transportation (and shopping-banking etc), support from health team to access and put in place reliable personal care assistance

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

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.

Options for in-home care

At present, home care seems to be limited *mostly* to regular working hours. Accessing support on evenings and weekends, while sometimes available, isn’t really the norm. And to my knowledge you can’t get any overnight support. Many people would choose to stay at home, or have a loved one stay in their home, if they had more personal care support - even if that meant paying out of pocket. The issue is finding people to do this work that are reliable and have some training And are insured. If you do hire someone privately, the logistics of having them paid but be able to follow recommendations from Home Care staff is very difficult. If there were a pool of YG workers that could access the training, support, and insurance (ie. be regular employees), but the compensation could be paid by clients/families to YG for the extra service (say respite or overnight care), I think the service would be greatly utilized.

1)intergeneration with well vetted students/single people 2) costs for LTC +/= homecare. Be open to bequests. 3) back to multigen. homes

High Cost of Prescription Drugs in Yukon

During our community consultations a number of individuals and health professionals indicated that the cost of prescription drugs is significantly higher (upwards of 20-40%) than in other Canadian jurisdictions. Have you found this to be the case as well?

Reduce liquor subsidies and increase food subsidies in communities .

For a long time, YG has subsidized the cost of liquor in the communities so a bottle of vodka is the same price across the territory. YG has not subsidized healthy groceries, so that jug of milk is Dawson is twice or three times the price of the same jug of milk in Whitehorse. How can we support people to lead healthier lives when the building block of nutrition is not equally accessible across the yukon? Let’s look at Creating equal access to all components of health.

An idea the Panel heard: what do you think?

Make child care more accessible and affordable for families.

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.

Provide territorial funds to CAPC and CPNP programs

Yukon is the only jurisdiction in Canada where the territory or health authority does not provide any supplement to these programs. The funding provided by the federal govt has remained the same for 25 years. Yes, 25 years with no increase in funding to accommodate for inflation. The territory needs to help fund these prenatal programs and programs aimed at families with young children.