Nunavut big health spender?

IQALUIT — The Canadian Institute for Health has released its 2001 annual report on the state of Canada’s health-care system. The report emphasizes the regional differences in the delivery and effectiveness of health care, although, due to the lack of statistics since 1999, few references are included for Nunavut.

The report does show Nunavut’s per capita spending on health care is very high compared to any other region or territory. While the average per capita amount spent by governments is $2,198, Nunavut spends $5,541. Nunavummiut, however, spend much less private money on health-care services than residents of other regions.

According to the report, Nunavut maintains a ratio of nurses per capita that is just slightly higher than elsewhere in Canada, although nurses in the North are required to perform more roles.

When the ratio is calculated on the basis of 100,000 people, it means Nunavut would have one nurse for every 706 people, while in the rest of Canada there would be one nurse for every 746 residents.

The text of the entire report can be consulted at www.cihi.ca.