N.W.T. gov’t to dissolve health authority’s leadership board
Public administrator will be more ‘nimble’ than board, territory says
The N.W.T. government has announced it will dissolve the leadership council that oversees the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority and replace it with a public administrator.
The council is basically the board that manages the health authority. It has nine members, who are accountable to the minister of Health and Social Services and who are supposed to direct the health authority’s affairs and advise the minister on priorities and strategic direction. It will be dissolved as of Dec. 16.
In a news release Tuesday, the government stated the leadership council’s role and structure “has not proven to fit the rapidly evolving and challenging needs of the current health and social services system, nor within the broader context of the [N.W.T. government].”
Regional wellness councils will now be providing feedback to Florizone and Health and Social Services Minister Lesa Semmler directly, instead of to the council.
“By establishing strong, focused leadership, we aim to address longstanding challenges within the system and lay a more resilient foundation for the future,” Semmler stated in the news release.
She added the decision isn’t a reflection of any failing on the part of the council’s members or the health authority.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Opposition accuses Yukon gov’t of looking to privatize parts of health-care system, CBC News
Finland : Finland’s elder care needs funding boost to meet Nordic standards: researcher, Yle News
Sweden: Giving birth in a car: a real rural problem in Sweden, Radio Sweden
United States: Alarming number of patients at Alaskan psychiatric emergency room, Alaska Public Media
