A new national health accord needs to be about health first, not money, says the president and CEO for HealthCareCAN.

Bill Tholl said in an interview Wednesday he’s in Whitehorse, along with representatives of other national health care organizations, to make sure health care doesn’t get lost in the shuffle during this week’s premiers’ meeting.

Representatives of the Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Nurses Association and the Canadian Mental Health Association are here, he pointed out.

“I would almost liken it to a full-court press of health care organizations here to remind the premiers there is more to health care than money,” he said.

HealthCareCAN represents hospitals and the 51 regional health care authorities across the country.

Tholl said the previous 10-year accord between the provinces and Ottawa was built around money. There was little accountability of how the additional $41.3 billion over the life of the arrangement was spent.

Most of it ended up in wage increases for nurses and doctors, he said.

Tholl said the effect of the previous accord that ended in 2014 was to keep everybody happy, but it did not bring about fundamental improvement to the delivery of health services for Canadians.

What the premiers must recognize and accept is the next national accord needs to be crafted by Health ministers, not Finance ministers, he said.

The three territories, he insisted, must be included in negotiating the next accord alongside the provinces, and not just be folded into the deal afterwards, as they were in 2004.

Tholl said the accord needs to embrace all aspects of health care, including mental health, the unique requirements of First Nations, care for seniors....

Only when the national strategy is formulated, when a blueprint for the next chapter in the delivery of Canada’s health care system has been articulated by the Health ministers, should the exercise be sent back to those who control the purse strings, he said.

Tholl emphasized public opinion polls show the state of the country’s health care system remains the number one concern of Canadians.

They’re worried about their system falling behind those of the other countries, including the potential of even falling behind the U.S., to which Canadians so proudly compare their health care system, he said.

He said they’re concerned about the frailty of the elderly, perhaps a close relative, falling between the cracks. They’re worried about mental health challenges.

Of the 44 beds at the Whitehorse General Hospital, 22 are occupied by patients who should be in long-term care facilities, he said.

On the other hand, Tholl emphasized, Whitehorse General’s 10-person unit responsible for providing front-line assistance to the needs of aboriginal clients is “exemplary.”

It’s a model that should be shared across the country, and an accord steeped in a unified, countrywide commitment to improving the delivery of health care would facilitate that sharing, he suggested.

Tholl pointed out HealthCareCAN is committed to implementing the eight action plans recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

When it comes to cultural sensitivity, said Tholl, Whitehorse General already has it down.

Similarly, he added, a united bond would help facilitate the knowledge transfer to Whitehorse General regarding the success seen in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax fighting super bugs.

“We need to put health first in the health accord, not money.”

Tholl said HealthCareCAN’s vision for a new funding arrangement with Ottawa is like a three-layer cake.

The first layer is the base funding of $36 billion in federal health care money shared by the territories and provinces, with an automatic three per cent increase every year beginning next April 1 to account for inflation, he explained.

(The automatic six per cent annual increase agreed to by the previous Conservation government ends this year.)

Tholl said the base funding should include flexibility to reflect demographics in each region.

In regions where there is a greater portion of elderly Canadians, such as on the West Coast, there needs to be an adjustment in the base funding to provide for the additional needs, he explained.

In the middle of the cake, as Tholl put it, there should be a $1-billion layer available each year to stimulate innovation in health care services.

And on top of the cake should be a $100-million fund available annually to reward performance achievements by the territories and provinces, he said.

Tholl said if, for instance, a territory or province establishes and achieves a goal of providing same day, or next day access to doctors or nurse practitioners, they should receive a slice of the $100 million to stimulate more goals and achievements.

First and foremost, however, a new national health accord needs to be about health care first, Tholl emphasized time and time again during his sit-down with the Star.

He said a new accord shouldn’t be 10 years. A decade was too long for the previous accord because it didn’t hold anybody accountable for its success or, more to the point, lack of success. Tholl said.

He said there was nobody left in 2014 to ask where all the additional money went.

None of the ministers who negotiated the deal were around, none of the deputy ministers, nobody, he said.

Tholl said a new accord should be for five years to ensure accountability, with an option to renew.