The Canadian Cancer Society believes the upcoming renegotiation of the Health Accord could fundamentally reform the health of Canadians and the way we receive our health care.
While systems, policies and dollars are essential elements of any agreement, the next accord must put the health outcomes of Canadians at its centre. Discussions must focus on how we can collectively improve the health and well-being of Canadians, and each aspect of the final document must have measurable impacts on our health. In other words, Canadians and their families must be at the heart of how we shape our health care system.
We believe the next Health Accord should address two pressing realities. The first is the importance of prevention. About half of all cancers are preventable; therefore, we call for an increased commitment to prevention initiatives.
Second, the increasing number of Canadians who are treated at home or in their communities not only face growing inequities in their treatment, they increasingly bear the cost of their care, causing significant financial hardship to many people already fighting for their lives.
Addressing this trend means ensuring every Canadian can afford the drugs they need.
It also means including palliative care at the end of life as part of the continuum of care and providing adequate funding to ensure end-of-life palliative care services are accessible to every Canadian.
And it means supporting caregivers, who are the invisible backbone of our health care system and critical to its sustainability, with additional assistance and more flexible labour laws and benefit programs.
The Canadian Cancer Society urges all governments to make individual Canadians and their families their number one priority as they negotiate the 2014 Health Accord. By working together, we can improve the health of Canadians for a generation.
