Children facing health crisis, report says

Association calls for boost in government funding, creation of national strategy

- MEGAN OGILVIE

Canada needs a chief children's health officer to oversee a national strategy that will prioritize and help solve the many challenges facing kids, says a new report from Children's Healthcare Canada.

Released Monday, the report is pushing for all levels of government to commit to "right sizing" the pediatric health-care system, long underfunded and undersized to meet the needs of the country's youngest generation.

This not only requires dedicated -and protected-funding to boost capacity for children's health care but also a strategy with targets and timelines to improve kids' health outcomes, the report says.

A chief children's health officer a new role for Canada - is imperative to create and carry out a national health-care strategy for kids, said Emily Gruenwoldt, president & CEO of Children's Healthcare Canada, a national association that advocates for ways to improve children's health systems and represents pediatric hospitals and other health-care providers.

Gruenwoldt noted that Canada has a number of chief officer roles, such as the chief nursing officer, that help lead on important national issues. The report states that some 18 national health-care organizations, including Children's Healthcare Canada, want to see a chief children's health officer established within the federal ministry of health.