This is a page from the 2023 Prince Edward Island general election.
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Health & Healthcare platforms

Here's what the PEI 2023 parties are promising.

Access to abortion services

We don't have any PC policies on Access to abortion services.
We don't have any Green policies on Access to abortion services.
We don't have any Liberal policies on Access to abortion services.

NDP

  • Fully-fund medical and surgical abortion services, and increase access across the Island, especially in rural areas

Ambulance and emergency wait-times

PC

  • Hire more physician assistants and nurse practitioners to provide Emergency Room care
  • Make virtual care apps like Maple free
  • Set up a task force to create a plan for reducing delays when offloading patients from ambulances
  • Hire more care providers and patient advocates to provide waiting room support
  • Provide up to $20k more funding to fire departments offering Medical First Responder services
  • Add four full-time ambulances
  • Provide free tuition for primary and advanced care paramedics who serve in PEI for two years
  • Offer recruitment incentives for rural paramedic positions
  • Provide funding to organisations providing non-urgent patient transfers

    "Providing funding to organizations such as Pat and the Elephant, Transportation West, and others to do the non-urgent transfer of medically stable patient transfers on PEI. This funding would include covering transportation costs as well as providing funding for the necessary equipment and vehicles to provide patient transfers" — peipc.ca, 2023-03-07

Green

  • Add dedicated staff to ER waiting rooms to do assessments and communicate with patients
  • Reduce or eliminate fees for non-urgent transportation services for people in need

    "Reduce or eliminate fees for transportation services like Pat and the Elephant and Transportation West." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-10

  • Increase paramedic wages, at least to be in-line with other Maritime provinces
  • Create a restorative care unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to reduce stress on ERs

    "The program includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, exercise, leisure, therapeutic activities, and education/information sessions.

    Emergency Rooms are often filled with patients waiting for longer-term beds in the hospital. Additional restorative care beds, especially at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, will help transition patients more quickly out of the ER and reduce wait times. Restorative care generally requires lower staffing levels and less highly trained staff than emergency departments. This makes it a more efficient use of limited staff resources than keeping patients for longer stays in emergency." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-16

  • Add paramedic positions

    "Add paramedic positions within the public healthcare system." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

Liberal

  • Make the Premier in charge of healthcare for two years
  • Create a new Patients' Rights Act with an independent officer to adjudicate complaints

    "A New Patients’ Rights Act that gives Islanders legal rights when it comes to timely access to healthcare services: The Liberal Party believes that Islanders deserve the right to timely, legally guaranteed access to healthcare services, regardless of where they live in PEI. This Act will define the rights that Islanders will have regarding access to healthcare. Implementation and enforcement of the Act will be a ministerial responsibility accompanied by an independent officer of the Legislature to adjudicate complaints and recommend corrective and/or remedial action." — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Invest in interim residential services and restorative care beds

    "4. Invest in interim residential services and facilities for medically discharged patients who need supports prior to returning home;

    5. Invest in restorative care beds so that medically discharged patients have an appropriate care setting to go to recover with the required medical supports" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Expand access to primary care in non-urgent settings

    "Expand access to primary care in non-urgent settings to divert patients away from ERs." — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Add Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to ER teams

    "Leverage other health professionals such as Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to become part of the ER care team to address shortages and improve access to care" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Provide ER workers compensation commensurate to the stress and difficulty of the job

    "Ensure emergency medicine offers compensation commensurate to the stress and difficultly of working conditions so that nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and other health care providers view emergency medicine as an attractive specialty of the health profession." — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Hire physician assistants to ease pressure on regional hospitals
  • Provide speical bonus funding for secure staffing at district hospital emergency rooms
  • Create a publicly-owned agency to operate extramural emergency medical services
  • Provide clear standards for the delivery of ER services and ambulance response times
  • Expand Holland College's paramedic training programmes

Chronic pain

PC

  • Develop a Chronic Pain Management Strategy and set up a clinic

    "Develop and support a Chronic Pain Management Strategy and Chronic Pain Management Clinic" — [With You. For You., 2023-03-24](With You. For You., 2023-03-24)

We don't have any Green policies on Chronic pain.
We don't have any Liberal policies on Chronic pain.
We don't have any NDP policies on Chronic pain.

Dental care and optometry

PC

  • Provide insurance for health, dental, and medications for part-time, seasonal, contract, and gig workers

    "Create a Portable Health Benefits Program to provide health, dental, and medication insurance for workers who may not be employed full-time, year-round, or those facing barriers to insurance coverage like seasonal workers, contract employees, and gig economy workers." — peipc.ca, 2023-03-10

  • Expand the Eye See...Eye Learn Program to ages 0-12

    "Expand the Eye See...Eye Learn Program to provide children with two free eye exams and two free pairs of eyeglasses between birth and age 12" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

We don't have any Green policies on Dental care and optometry.
We don't have any Liberal policies on Dental care and optometry.

NDP

  • Work with the federal government to create a universal dental care programme

Diabetes

PC

  • Remove the age requirement on the Diabetes Insulin Pump Program
  • Remove the age cap on continuous glucose monitoring devices

    "Remove the age cap on continuous glucose monitoring devices and provide support based on household income levels" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

We don't have any NDP policies on Diabetes.

Drugs and addiction

PC

  • Provide $250K to allow workers who work with vulnerable people to take the Brain Story Certification training

    "Provide $250,000 to facilitate frontline workers — such as social workers, healthcare professionals, correctional workers, police officers and anyone who works with vulnerable Islanders — to take the Brain Story Certification training to better understand the connection between brain development to addiction and mental health" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Invest in a dedicated site in Charlottetown to provide wrap-around services for vulnerable Islanders

    "Invest in a Charlottetown-based dedicated site to provide wrap-around services for vulnerable Islanders, including but not limited to Community Outreach Centre, supportive housing, housing that fosters independent living, harm reduction programs, social supports, training programs, etc." — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Create a detox facility in Summerside
  • Expand residential and outpatient treatment options

    "Healthcare services should be relevant to the communities receiving those services. Summerside has particularly acute challenges with addictions and would be well served by the provision of withdrawal management (detox) services close to home.

    A new withdrawal management facility in Summerside will also help ease backlogs and shorten wait times at the existing provincial addictions facility in Mount Herbert. This would be an expansion in the overall provincial capacity, as such, we would not expect a corresponding reduction in capacity in the Mount Herbert facility or the planned mental health campus.

    Cost estimate: approximately $10 million over three years." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-16

  • Provide the Charlottetown overdose prevention site all resources it needs, including consulting with the community and those accessing the service

    "Make sure the overdose prevention site in Charlottetown has all the resources needed to succeed, including consultation with the community and those accessing the service." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

We don't have any Liberal policies on Drugs and addiction.

NDP

  • Develop community-based youth addiction and prevention programmes
  • Include harm reduction centres in community health hubs

Fitness and wellbeing

PC

  • Increase the income threshold for KidSport funding

    "Increase the income threshold for KidSport funding to provide up to $600 per child to participate in sports and recreational activities for any household that earns under $80,000" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Increase the Fitness and Activity Tax Credit to $1K

    "Increase the Fitness and Activity Tax Credit to $1,000 for registration or membership fees to artistic, cultural, recreational or physical activity programming" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Partner with community gyms to offer low- or no-cost fitness programmes

    "Improve access to fitness activities, including by partnering with community gyms to deliver no or low-cost fitness programs for all ages. Collaborate with healthcare professionals to design programs." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

  • Invest in recreation infrastructure like playgrounds, sports fields, and community gardens, and ensure public washrooms are available at these facilities

    "Invest in recreation infrastructure like playgrounds, sports fields, and community gardens so that Islanders of all ages can stay active in their communities. It’s also important public washrooms are available at these facilities." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-13

We don't have any Liberal policies on Fitness and wellbeing.
We don't have any NDP policies on Fitness and wellbeing.

Gender-affirming care

We don't have any PC policies on Gender-affirming care.
We don't have any Green policies on Gender-affirming care.
We don't have any Liberal policies on Gender-affirming care.

NDP

  • Provide and cover a full range of gender-affirming care services

Health PEI and culture in the system

We don't have any PC policies on Health PEI and culture in the system.

Green

  • Provide immediate management training for all Health PEI management

    "Immediately implement management training for all management within Health PEI. This includes nurse managers, upper level management, and all other health managers. This training will focus on providing effective, psychologically safe, and respectful support for frontline staff and patients." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Meet with healthcare union leaders to discuss addressing a culture of silence in healthcare

    "Within the first 90 days meet with healthcare union leaders to begin addressing the culture of silence in healthcare." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-13

  • Amend the Health Services Act to remove political interference from the health system

    "Amend the Health Services Act to remove political interference from the operations and delivery of healthcare on PEI.

    • Simplify the recruitment and hiring of healthcare professionals.

    • Government will hold Health PEI accountable for providing excellent patient-centred care across PEI while providing the funding and support they need to succeed." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

We don't have any Liberal policies on Health PEI and culture in the system.
We don't have any NDP policies on Health PEI and culture in the system.

Long-term care

PC

  • Decrease the wage gap between public and private providers

    "Continue to work with the Long-term Care Associations to decrease the wage gap between public and private providers and to develop a long-term human resource strategy for community care and long-term care facilities" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Expand electronic medical records to manors and nursing homes
  • Legislate common standards with standardised inspections for public and private care facilities

    "Make legislative amendments to ensure that public and private community care facilities and long-term care facilities move toward common standards, including uniform inspections so that Islanders are safe and receive appropriate care and support" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Add additional resources, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists, to community and long-term care facilities

    "Introduce additional resources, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other allied health providers, into community care and long-term facilities to improve the quality of life for residents" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Create a fund for recruitment and retention initiatives

    "Respecting collective agreements, establish a fund to foster recruitment and retention specific to community care and long-term care facilities" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Create a capital loan programme for expanding community and long-term care programmes

    "Create a capital loan program for community care and long-term care facilities to expand over the next five years" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Increase the monthly comfort allowance for residents in care

Green

  • Offer low-interest loans to private long-term care facilities to make capital improvements
  • Transition away from for-profit care by giving government an ownership stake in for-profit homes
  • Add new long-term care beds in the public system
  • Legislate national standards for long-term care
  • Review long-term care and community care home fees

"Islanders have expressed concerns about the rising cost of community care and long-term care, and how much families of seniors in care are expected to pay. There are also concerns about the amount of a senior’s income and assets are required to be given up when they enter care. A Green government would immediately review these fees and regulations to make sure Islanders are not paying more than is necessary." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-17

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Liberal

  • Make the national long-term care standards mandatory
  • Expand nursing care for treating dementia patients in public and private facilities
  • Develop new expanded training programmes for long-term care
  • Create a planning model to provide 10-year projections for care needs

    "Develop a supply and demand planning model that provides 10-year projections on long-term care, community care, and senior’s housing needs" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Pay community care facilities and nursing care facilities the same for non-health services
  • Provide subsidies and contractual payments reflecting inflation

    "Develop and implement subsidies and contractual payments that reflect the actual inflation and cost of living increases experienced by the sector" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Prioritise livable wages, stable work, and health and safety for long-term and home-care workers
  • Improving living spaces, programming, and staffing for residents with dementia and severe impairment
  • Require a standard number of daily hours of care for nursing home and community care residents
  • Work with other governments to develop national care standards

    "Work with the federal, provincial and territorial governments to develop national care standards." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

  • Expand the scope of practice of personal care workers
  • Invest in training programmes and incentives to address staffing shortages
  • Push back on privatisation

Mental health

PC

  • Provide $250K to allow workers who work with vulnerable people to take the Brain Story Certification training

    "Provide $250,000 to facilitate frontline workers — such as social workers, healthcare professionals, correctional workers, police officers and anyone who works with vulnerable Islanders — to take the Brain Story Certification training to better understand the connection between brain development to addiction and mental health" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Provide funding for a dedicated resource to provide mental health support to the Autism Society of PEI's members and their families

Green

  • Add counselling positions to family clinics and emergency rooms
  • Reopen the Charlottetown Psychiatric Urgent Care Clinic, and establish clinics outside of Charlottetown

    "The PUCC was established during the pandemic and rapidly became an award-winning service. Shortly afterward it was shut down. A Green Government would reestablish the Charlottetown PUCC and open additional sites across PEI." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-16

  • Build a new mental health hospital
  • Do a full review of the Mental Health Act
  • Increase funding to the adult ADHD clinic, and make it permanent

Liberal

  • Create a 10-year plan for providing accommodations to people living with mental illness without stable housing
  • Provide mental health and addictions services online

    "Provide online access to mental health and addictions services to be available for every Islander in need" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Expand access to paid mental health services from psychologists

    "Expand access to mental health services through the use of psychologists as part of the PEI Health system on a fee-for-service basis" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Add more mental health walk-in clinics and mobile mental health units

    "Expand the number of mental health walk-in clinics and mobile mental health units to increase services to Islanders, including 24-7 coverage" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Create a dedicated department of mental health and addictions with its own Minister and budget

    "Establish a dedicated department of mental health and addictions with its own Minister, budget, and Deputy Minister to deliver enhanced services to Islanders" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Provide mental health therapy through the PEI health card

    "Implement mental health therapy through the PEI health card, allowing Islanders to choose the best services for their needs." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

  • Improve e-health accessibility

    "Improve accessibility of our province’s complicated and under-utilized e-health system." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

Natal care

We don't have any PC policies on Natal care.
We don't have any Liberal policies on Natal care.

NDP

  • Legislate, provide certification for, and regulate integrated, publicly-funded midwifery services

Prescription drugs & pharmacare

PC

  • Provide insurance for health, dental, and medications for part-time, seasonal, contract, and gig workers

    "Create a Portable Health Benefits Program to provide health, dental, and medication insurance for workers who may not be employed full-time, year-round, or those facing barriers to insurance coverage like seasonal workers, contract employees, and gig economy workers." — peipc.ca, 2023-03-10

  • Reduce the co-pay for the generic drug programme to $5
  • Add more drugs to the formulary covered by the government

    "Continue to work with the federal government towards a PharmaCare program by adding more drugs to the formulary covered by the government" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Review the provincial pharmacare programme

    "Review the provincial pharmacare program to make sure Islanders are not overburdened by drug costs and dispensing fees." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-10

  • Increase funding on pharmacare by $18M

    "A Green government would make an immediate investment of $18 million into provincial pharmacare programs to improve access and eliminate unnecessary fees. This would help close the gap between the Prince Edward Island and Canadian average per capita expenditures on pharmacare. Included in this commitment is free access to contraceptive care." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-21

NDP

  • Work with the federal government to create a universal pharmacare programme

Prevention and treatment

We don't have any PC policies on Prevention and treatment.

Green

  • Expand wastewater testing to new municipalities, and test for new viruses

    "Explore opportunities to expand wastewater testing to new municipalities and to cover new viruses to inform the public health response to illness." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

  • Provide free water safety lessons to all primary age students

Liberal

NDP

  • Improve access to programmes that support healthy living and disease prevention
  • Provide comprehensive services for people with, or at risk of, HIV, including harm reduction and anonymous HIV testing

Primary care

PC

  • Add 16 more Patient Medical Homes by the end of 2024
  • Make virtual care apps like Maple free
  • Add 100 new full-time positions supporting medical homes
  • Create Mobile Primary Care Clinics
  • Launch walk-in clinics led by nurse practitioners
  • Attach all patients on the Patient Registry to a Medical Home within the next 2 years
  • Expand the Charlottetown and Summerside Primary Care Access Clinics, and open new ones in West Prince and Kings County
  • Allow people to access telehealth services at libraries and Access PEI locations
  • Expand online tools like Skip the Waiting Room for booking appointments

    "Implement tools like Skip the Waiting Room across all areas of the healthcare system to reduce no-show appointments and provide patients with the ability to book their own appointments" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Implement a programme to connect family physicians directly with specialists, instead of having physicians make unnecessary referrals

    "Implement a Virtual Hallway program to connect family physicians with specialists for consults to avoid unnecessary referrals to specialists." — peipc.ca, 2023-03-10

  • Revise the medical fee structure to allow family physicians to provide additional walk-in clinic services

    "Modernize the medical fee structure so it is flexible enough to cover innovative arrangements for family physicians who want to provide access to primary care through walk-in clinics outside their existing patients" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Provide operating grants to establish Access Clinic Exam Spaces for pharmacists, physicians, and nurse practitioners to provide walk-in services

    "Working with communities and non-profit organizations, provide operating grants to establish Access Clinic Exam Spaces for local pharmacists, physicians, nurse practitioners, and locum physicians to provide walk-in clinics for routine, non-urgent matters" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Allow nurse practitioner-led clinics

    "Amend the Medical Act to allow nurse practitioners to work more effectively in a collaborative practice or to manage nurse practitioner-led clinics. Both will allow nurse practitioners to take more patients off the patient registry." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Immediately fund one additional support staff for family physicians and nurse practitioners who request them

    "Immediately fund one additional support staff for family physicians and nurse practitioners who request additional support. This may be in the form of a nurse, counsellor, medical administrator, admin support, etc., based on the needs of the practice." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Make virtual care services free, and consult with physicians on integrating virtual care into the health system

    "Give all Islanders free access to virtual care services when they need them. Consult with physicians on how to best integrate virtual care into our healthcare system.." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Open more walk-in clinics

    "Open more walk-in clinics, such as cough and fever, mobile blood work, and prescription renewal clinics." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Add five new family physician residency spots

    "Increase family physician residency spots from 5 to 10, supported by new state of the art training technology at UPEI. Physicians tend to stay where they do their residency." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Improve family physician salaries and supports

    "Review family physician salaries and supports in consultation with the medical community to make PEI more competitive with other Canadian provinces." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Provide funding and flexibility to physicians to open medical homes or collaborative practices

    "Support family physicians to open medical homes or collaborative practices across PEI by providing them with the flexibility, support, and funding they need to succeed." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

    "Continue creating patient medical homes and neighbourhoods, with priority placed on those serving in rural areas. These would include primary care, mental health services, chronic disease management, physiotherapy, and other complementary care." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

  • Build a new facility for the Harbourside Medical Clinic in Summerside
  • Use a proven electronic medical record system, integrated with other Maritime systems

    "Use a proven Electronic Medical Record system and work to integrate it with EMR systems in other Maritime provinces." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

Liberal

  • Temporarily add more walk-in clinics by incentivising physicians

    "Expand the volume of walk-in clinics on an interim basis by incentivizing physicians to provide these services" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Adjust fees and compensation for family physicians to make the career more attractive

    "Adjust fee structure/compensation models, so that family medicine becomes a more attractive career choice"  — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Develop a digital medical specialist programme

    "Work with the PEI Medical Society, UPEI, and Holland College to develop a digital medical specialist program to help physicians with support to better manage administrative backlogs and inefficiencies" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Expand the range of conditions pharmacists can diagnose and prescribe for, and programmes they can deliver

    "Expand the range of health conditions for which Island pharmacists can diagnose and prescribe in keeping with their scope of practice that reflects what pharmacists can do in the rest of Canada" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

    "3. Allow pharmacists to deliver the PEI Smoking and Vaping Cessation Program to allow more Islanders to access these critically important services;

    4. Allow pharmacists to deliver contraception management services on a fee-for-service basis to broaden the accessibility of these services for Island women;

    5. Allow pharmacists to play a greater role in chronic disease management, including blood pressure and cholesterol diagnosis / treatment and diabetes management;

    6. Allow pharmacists to serve as the primary location for vaccine services, including flu and Covid-booster vaccines" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Create a new funding model to encourage pharmacy owners to be more involved in primary care

    "Develop a funding model that encourages and supports pharmacy owners to play a greater role in primary care delivery as well as incentivizes pharmacists to deliver expanded services." — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Fund physician access to digital health tech specialists

    "Provide physicians with access to funded digital health technology specialists to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of medical practices."

  • Use online tools to provide real-time wait time info for ERs, medical clinics, and other care settings

    "Implement online systems and booking options to provide Islanders with real-time information on wait times at ERs, medical clinics, and other care settings to enhance access to non-urgent treatments" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Create "health hubs" where primary care teams would provide services

    "Establish health hubs where primary care teams provide services to individuals in their communities." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

Regional healthcare

PC

  • Include more healthcare professionals under the regional licensing system

    "Increase our regional licensing system to include other healthcare professionals, similar to what the Atlantic provinces have done with the Atlantic Physician Registry" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Work with other Atlantic provinces to use vacant operating room times across the region for reducing surgery backlogs
  • Provide financial assistance to cover accommodations and meals for Islanders who have to travel out-of-province for treatment, tests, or operations

    "Launch a comprehensive Medical Transportation Assistance Program to provide Islanders who have to travel out of province for medical treatment, tests or operations with financial assistance to cover accommodations and per diems for meals, in addition to existing programs to cover gas, bridge or ferry tolls" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Use a proven electronic medical record system, integrated with other Maritime systems

    "Use a proven Electronic Medical Record system and work to integrate it with EMR systems in other Maritime provinces." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

We don't have any Liberal policies on Regional healthcare.
We don't have any NDP policies on Regional healthcare.

Rural healthcare

PC

  • Offer recruitment incentives for rural paramedic positions

Green

  • Provide financial incentives to physicians to live and practice in under-served communities

    "Review the Rural Physician Program to provide direct financial incentives to physicians who live and practice in under-serviced communities." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Pay physicians who provide emergency on-call services in rural areas

    "Create a Rural On-Call Program to provide remuneration to physicians providing emergency on-call services at eligible facilities in rural areas." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

NDP

  • Increase rural practicum and residency placements for medical students and graduates

    "Boosting practicum and residency placements for medical students and graduates with experienced rural physicians." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

  • Provide incentives for locum physicians to fill gaps in rural clinics

Senior at-home care

PC

  • Provide $500/year rebates for home-based medical alert systems
  • Increase the Seniors Safe at Home income threshold to $15,000

    "Increase income thresholds for the Seniors Safe at Home program from $10,000 to $15,000" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Provide seniors living at-home with social and health services, including telehealth

    "Establishing a Care-in-Place program by working with home care, community care, and long-term care facilities to provide seniors living at home with enhanced social and health supports including telehealth services available from home, connecting residents with existing community services and programs, friendly check-in calls and in-person social visits, offering intergenerational programming with students, transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping and social outings, and opening recreational programs available at long-term care facilities to seniors living in their own homes." — peipc.ca, 2023-03-09

  • Add 50 new positions over 2 years to provide home care services and support for patients discharged from hospitals
  • Increase the Seniors Home Repair programme to $8,000

    "Increase income thresholds for the Seniors Home Repair program from $4,000 to $8,000" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Provide a grant up to $1,500/mo to families of seniors remaining at-home

    "Create a Primary Caregiver Grant of up to $1,500 a month to support families who choose to keep their loved ones at home longer instead of going to community care" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Expand homecare services
  • Use a wraparound approach with a simpler application process

    "Expand homecare services to seniors and other Islanders in need to make sure they can age in place with access to appropriate supports and services.

    • Adopt a wraparound approach for seniors. The application process must be simplified so Island seniors do not miss out on needed services.

    • Increase resources for Seniors Navigator." — 2023 Election Platform, 2023-03-23

Liberal

  • Expand the home-care budget
  • Create a pilot project to provide up to $1,500/mo people who stay at home to care for a loved one, and provide various supports to the caregiver

    "Ensure the HomeFirst Homecare Program is focused on supporting the caregiver with system-wide health supports, including:

    • Provincial needs assessment to determine level of care requirements;

    • Inclusion in the Provincial Homecare program for monitoring and follow-up;

    • Access to 911 and Island EMS paramedics mobile integrated health services for in-home care under the guise of an expanded Senior’s Check-In Program;

    • Access to advanced first aid training for caregivers;

    • Access to mental health supports and training for caregivers;" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Increase funding for the Senior's Home Repair Program

    "Expanding funding under the Senior’s Home Repair Program to ensure more seniors have access to funding that allows them to remain in their homes longer" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Prioritise livable wages, stable work, and health and safety for long-term and home-care workers
  • Provide OT, physio, social work, personal support, and home help in the public home care programme

    "Strengthen the full-range complement of professional services in the publicly managed home care program – OT, physio, social work, personal support and home help." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

  • Create a Caregiver Tax Credit

    "Create a substantial Caregiver Tax Credit to provide real financial support to family caregivers." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

  • Push back on privatisation

Seniors' health & services

PC

  • Increase the Seniors Hearing Aid Rebate to cover up to $6,000

    "Doubling the Seniors Hearing Aid Rebate program to a maximum coverage of up to $6,000 instead of a maximum of $3,000 per individual" — peipc.ca, 2023-03-10

  • Increase the Seniors Tax Credit to $6,510, and raise the threshold to $36K
  • Expand the Seniors Independence Initiative to provide up to $2,500 in assistance for individuals with income up to $40K and couples with income up to $50K

    "Expand the Seniors Independence Initiative to provide up to $2,500 in assistance for individuals with a household income of up to $40,000 for a single person or $50,000 for a couple" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Increase funding for renovations and repairs of public seniors' housing

    "● increase funding for public housing repairs and renovations;

    ● improve security and access to in-person maintenance support in public housing;

    ● improve access to food programs and technology; and

    ● review eligibility thresholds for seniors public housing." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-17

    "Immediately make repairs to government-owned seniors housing and ensure that maintenance is always up to date." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-17

  • Expand the Seniors' Food Program pilot to all of PEI, and make it permanent

    "The Seniors Food Program delivers reheatable meals, but this program is limited to the Georgetown and Cardigan areas. A Green government would expand this program to include all of Prince Edward Island." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-17

  • Establish an independent seniors' advocate

    "A Green Government would establish an independent seniors’ advocate, an officer of the Legislative Assembly to support and advocate on behalf of seniors and persons with disabilities with respect to their rights and interests in relation to government policies and services. It is based in part on the model of the recently created Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, and the Child and Youth Advocate Act." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-17

  • Increase supports for reducing the cost of hearing aids
  • Increase resources for the Seniors Navigator
  • Increase funding for the Seniors Independence Initiative

NDP

  • Create a PEI Retirement Pension Plan, with benefits indexed to inflation

Sexual and reproductive health

PC

  • Provide access to free contraceptive care

NDP

  • Invest in public education about sexuality, gender, consent, and sexual and reproductive health
  • Fully cover contraceptive drugs and devices
  • Provide comprehensive services for people with, or at risk of, HIV, including harm reduction and anonymous HIV testing

Speech and hearing

PC

  • Create a 12-month plan to add new speech-language pathologist and audiologist positions

    "Working with the PEI Speech and Hearing Association, develop a 12-month action plan to add new Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists positions to the public system to address the current waitlist and population gaps in services" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

We don't have any Green policies on Speech and hearing.

Liberal

  • Increase funding for education assistances, school psychologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and other resource personnel in schools
We don't have any NDP policies on Speech and hearing.

Staffing shortages

PC

  • Make on-Island tuition free for RCWs, LPNs, and Paramedics who serve in PEI for two years, and provide bursaries for LPNs, RNs, and Paramedics who study off-Island
  • Provide free licenses for returning healthcare workers who want to do casual or part-time work
  • Guarantee that students studying in healthcare will get full-time positions the day after they graduate
  • Legislate recognition of domestic and foreign RCW, LPN, and RN credentials
  • Allow foreign-trained physicians to practice under a new Associate Physician license, while being supervised by fully-licensed physicians

    "Launch an Associate Physician license to allow foreign-trained physicians expedited licensing to practice to a defined scope under the supervision of other fully licensed physicians" — peipc.ca, 2023-03-09

  • Work with post-secondary institutions to help retrain RCWs as LPNs and LPNs as RNs, while keeping them at work
  • Create a recruitment and retention strategy for high vacancy positions

    "Develop a recruitment and retention strategy for high vacancy positions, including lab technology, social work, psychology and therapists, by working with post-secondary partners in the region" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

Green

  • Start a study to figure out if a medical school is the best way to address staffing shortages
  • Invest $37M in wage increases and benefits for front-line staff, including an immediate 15% wage increase

    "Immediately invest $37 million directly into wage increases and benefits for frontline healthcare staff at Health PEI. This includes all levels of nursing, medical lab technologists, radiation technologists, porters, cleaning staff, and all others who work on the frontline of patient care." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Allow and hire physician assistants to work in PEI

    "Amend legislation to allow Physician Assistants (PA) to work in healthcare on PEI. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia already allow PAs to work in their healthcare systems." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Provide regional bursaries for RNs to train to become NPs

    "Implement regional bursaries to registered nurses to train to become nurse practitioners at UPEI. Target RNs currently living or working in underserved regions." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Offer employment to all UPEI Nurse Practitioner graduates, and hire more NPs

    "Offer employment to all Nurse Practitioner graduates of UPEI. Once the range of care is increased to allow nurse practitioners to work independently, immediately hire additional nurse practitioners to take on patient panels directly from the patient registry." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Work with medical colleges to simplify licensing of internationally-trained health professionals, and reduce fees

    "Work with the medical colleges to speed up and simplify the process for internationally trained health professionals.

    Reduce fees that internationally trained health professionals must pay to practise on PEI." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Look for managers who have health credentials to cover shifts

    "Look for managers that can go back to the frontline to cover shifts. There are many healthcare professionals who move into administrative roles. These positions could be created with a requirement to continue working a minimum number of hours of clinical practice. This would likely be negotiated during hiring." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-13

  • Cut back on administrative work for health professionals
  • Create a bridging programme to train practising LPNs as RNs

    "The LPN to RN bridging program will help licensed practical nurses already in the health system upgrade their skills to those of a registered nurse. The program will be designed in consultation with key stakeholders such as healthcare unions, Health PEI, and post-secondary institutions." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-13

  • Cover expenses for English language tests for RNs and LPNs

    "Currently any RN or LPN who does not identify English as their first language must complete an English language competency test to be registered on PEI. The cost of this test is $280 and is only administered in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. Any student graduating from an RN or LPN program on PEI who requires this testing will have the test and associated travel costs covered by the province." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-13

  • Regularly review wages to ensure they're competitive with other provinces

Liberal

  • Work with nursing organisations to create a Nursing Sustainability Strategy

    "Engage with RN and LPN Nursing organizations to develop a Nursing Sustainability Strategy with the nursing profession that is based on a 10-year workforce projection in order to define projected shortages and recruitment/retention/compensation challenges and solutions" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Address financial compensation for nurses

    "Address financial compensation so that nursing becomes a financially-rewarding career that attracts new entrants, retains our current nurses, and brings retired nurses back into active practice" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Cover tuition costs for any nurse who returns to work in PEI

    "Increase student enrollment in expanded PEI nursing programs through a Team Nursing Scholarship program that covers the tuition costs for any nurse who returns to work in PEI’s healthcare system" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Allow nurses licensed in other provinces to practice in PEI

    "Establish inter-provincial labour mobility among nurses licensed to practice in other provinces to practice in PEI" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Legislate nurse-to-patient ratios

    "Establish a workplace where nursing workloads are based upon legislated nurse-to-patient ratios" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Fast-track licensing of foreign-trained health professionals
  • Hire physician assistants to ease pressure on regional hospitals
  • Create a travel nurse programme

Training more staff

PC

  • Make on-Island tuition free for RCWs, LPNs, and Paramedics who serve in PEI for two years, and provide bursaries for LPNs, RNs, and Paramedics who study off-Island
  • Guarantee that students studying in healthcare will get full-time positions the day after they graduate
  • Start an Emergency Medicine Residency Program
  • Work with communities and post-secondary institutions to offer healthcare training programmes in communities across the province

    "Work with communities and our post-secondary institutions to offer training programs for healthcare professionals in communities across the province, as our PC government has done for RCW training" — With You. For You., 2023-03-24

  • Work with post-secondary institutions to help retrain RCWs as LPNs and LPNs as RNs, while keeping them at work
  • Create a programme in high schools to help students transition into health-based careers

    "Develop a Healthcare Career Pathway Pilot in high schools allowing students to more easily transition from high school to health-based careers." — peipc.ca, 2023-03-20

Green

  • Start a study to figure out if a medical school is the best way to address staffing shortages
  • Provide regional bursaries for RNs to train to become NPs

    "Implement regional bursaries to registered nurses to train to become nurse practitioners at UPEI. Target RNs currently living or working in underserved regions." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Offer employment to all UPEI Nurse Practitioner graduates, and hire more NPs

    "Offer employment to all Nurse Practitioner graduates of UPEI. Once the range of care is increased to allow nurse practitioners to work independently, immediately hire additional nurse practitioners to take on patient panels directly from the patient registry." — peigreens.ca, 2023-03-08

  • Increase UPEI training seats for Nurse Practitioners
  • Create a bridging programme to train practising LPNs as RNs

    "The LPN to RN bridging program will help licensed practical nurses already in the health system upgrade their skills to those of a registered nurse. The program will be designed in consultation with key stakeholders such as healthcare unions, Health PEI, and post-secondary institutions." — peigreens.ca backgrounder, 2023-03-13

  • Create a Physician Assistant training programme at UPEI

Liberal

  • Increase RN and LPN nursing programme spaces, with a focus on training nurses in rural areas

    "Increase nursing spaces in RN and LPN programs to address chronic nursing shortages, including a focus on training nurses in rural areas" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Cover tuition costs for any nurse who returns to work in PEI

    "Increase student enrollment in expanded PEI nursing programs through a Team Nursing Scholarship program that covers the tuition costs for any nurse who returns to work in PEI’s healthcare system" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Double scholarships and financial recruitment incentives

    "Double scholarships/financial recruitment incentives to ensure Island students studying medicine in other provinces will find it attractive to return to PEI to practice" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

  • Double the number of medical residency seats

    "Establish return-in-service agreements for Island students studying at a Canadian University where the PEI government has purchased seats and double the number of medical residency seats, including four new seats for students studying outside of Canada" — Healthcare First: An Action Plan for Islanders, 2023-03-22

NDP

  • Fully-fund the new medical faculty at UPEI
  • Increase rural practicum and residency placements for medical students and graduates

    "Boosting practicum and residency placements for medical students and graduates with experienced rural physicians." — NDP Platform 2023, 2023-03-09

  • Expand Holland College's paramedic training programmes