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Yukon Health and Social Services reports 14 of 76 Putting People First recommendations completed

Total of 14 recommendations are now part of the health system
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Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee is seen on Sept. 15. McPhee says as the government works to continue implementing the Putting People First report, it is working to transform the health system to better meet the needs of Yukoners. (Dana Hatherly/Yukon News)

The Yukon government has released it’s first annual update to the Putting People First report.

Putting People First was a review of the territory’s health and social services program released in 2020. It issued 76 recommendations for overhauling the system.

The report, released Nov. 23, shows that 14 recommendations have been incorporated with another 39 underway. The remaining 23 have not been started.

Among those that have been implemented are:

  • enhancements to the territory’s medical travel benefit program including a doubling of the benefit;
  • a reduction in pharmacy markups and fees;
  • hiring additional nurse practitioners;
  • the creation of a new care coordination and medical travel unit to streamline care across programs and providers;
  • enhanced services at long-term care homes to better support First Nations residents and their families;
  • the creation of an evidence and evaluation unit that has a mandate to support the health and social system;
  • and the implementation of universal early childhood education throughout the territory.

One of the next steps under the recommendations will be to create a health authority, which the government described as “a foundational step toward implementing the changes Yukoners have asked for.”

Preliminary work has started, with three names being considered: Health and Wellness Yukon, Santé et mieux-être Yukon or Shä̀w Kwä̀ ’a, though the minister of Health and Social Services referred to it as Health and Wellness Yukon in a statement. Further information about the work underway was requested, but not made available by deadline.

“As we continue implementing the recommendations from Putting People First, we are working hard to implement the transformation of our health and social services system to better meet the needs of all Yukoners,” Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee said in a statement. “Establishing Health and Wellness Yukon is the next big step in delivering on the transformational change Yukoners have asked of us and we look forward to sharing more information as this important work continues.”

Some of the recommendations the government has yet to start working on would see the development of a client charter to empower clients to be more proactive partners in their care; making it easier for Yukoners’ to access their personal health information via a secure portal; increasing the disability top-up amount to $325 to reflect inflation since 2005 along with indexing it to inflation going forward; and aligning the Yukon government’s housing initiatives, among others.

Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com



Stephanie Waddell

About the Author: Stephanie Waddell

I joined Black Press in 2019 as a reporter for the Yukon News, becoming editor in February 2023.
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