The health organizations of Northern Saskatchewan all face similar issues and challenges. For instance, existing health service delivery systems are fragmented and disjointed, services available are inconsistent, duplicated or delivered by overlapping jurisdictions, and there are gaps in service, all leading to a number of major challenges. The Northern Health Strategy (NHS) attempts to address some of these challenges, which include: jurisdictional complexities in service delivery; diseconomies of scale; human resource issues (recruitment and retention difficulties); geographic dispersion, small population, and small community size (often remote/isolated.)

Northern health leaders recognize the need to bring together northern health jurisdictions and other important stakeholders to work effectively on northern health conditions which can not be dealt with by a sole authority. Over the last number of years, northern leaders have shaped a process called the Northern Health Strategy which enables them to direct attention toward a number of health areas that are of key importance to improve health services and advance positive progress on the health status of northerners.

From Notion to Action

At a board-to-board meeting of northern health districts/authorities in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, on October 20, 2001, the first Northern Health Strategy Working Group (NHSWG) was created by signing a northern health accord. The accord identified the following: