President’s Letter: NLMA Seeks Commitments from Party Leaders for Future of Health Care
Dear Colleagues,
The NLMA is committed to advocating for the needs of both physicians and patients across our province. This week, we reached out to each provincial party leader, requesting their positions on several critical health care priorities. Our goal is to ensure that these issues, which reflect the evolving needs of our medical workforce and the communities we serve, are front and center in upcoming policy discussions.
We asked each of the province’s political parties to advise where they stand on the following
themes:
- Protecting the Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre
- The Janeway must remain a dedicated pediatric hospital. We asked for a clear
commitment that adult services will not encroach upon the Janeway, preserving
its specialized focus on children’s health and rehabilitation.
- The Janeway must remain a dedicated pediatric hospital. We asked for a clear
- Upholding National Compensation Standards to Attract and Retain Physicians
- Attracting and retaining physicians, by ensuring competitive compensation aligned with national benchmarks, is critical to ensure that Newfoundland and Labrador does not fall behind other provinces.
- Improving the Work Environment within NL Health Services
- We must foster a supportive, safe, and efficient workplace for physicians all health professionals, one where the physician voice is respected and valued.
- Overhead Funding Support for all Physicians who Provide MCP-Insured Services in the Community
- We call for all physicians providing MCP-insured services in the community to have access to adequate overhead funding.
- Commit to Universal Access to Family Physicians
- Every person in Newfoundland and Labrador deserves a choice to access family physicians for quality longitudinal primary health care provision.
We have requested that each party leader respond to our letter by October 1, 2025. Once responses are received, we will share them with NLMA members, publish them on our social media channels, and provide them to the media to ensure transparency and informed public dialogue. Please review the attached letter and full health care message for further details.
These issues are vital to the future of health care in Newfoundland and Labrador. Our province deserves a system that is modern, equitable, and responsive to the needs of both its medical professionals and its patients. I look forward to briefing you on the party leaders’ responses when they are available.
Thank you for your ongoing dedication and commitment to excellence in patient care.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Slade
President