MP Chatel, advocating for improved healthcare access in rural and remote communities

Connor Lalande
pontiac March 7, 2023
Alongside her colleagues in the rural Liberal caucus, Pontiac Member of Parliament, Sophie Chatel is advocating for improved access to healthcare for Canadians living in rural and remote communities. On March 7, Chantel wrote a letter to Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, urging future bilateral agreements on healthcare with the provinces and territories to include “a commitment to improve access to health care services in our rural communities”.
In the letter, Chatel describes the unique healthcare challenges faced by rural and remote communities. According to Chatel, “regional services are often limited, with fewer physicians and other health care professionals living and working in rural communities.”
In partnership with community members, healthcare professionals and the Society of Rural Physicians headed by local physician Keith MacLellan, Chantel made several recommendations relating to improved healthcare in rural and remote communities. According to Chantel’s letter, the listed recommendations include, among others, partnering with provincial counterparts to explore solutions to help physicians and other healthcare professionals to provide a wider range of healthcare services and leveraging technology to assist rural generalists with “just in time” assistance support from specialists in urban centres.