Statements in Debates
Just to be clear, we are talking about the ’15-16 budget, as the Member indicated, and the health transformation will not occur during this fiscal year. Much of the work is going to be done. The actual rollout of the transformed health system will begin April 1, 2016, and it may take a bit of time to realize some of the savings in some of the specific areas where those savings might occur. It would probably be a little premature to say whether or not we will see an increase in the budget in ’16 and ’17 or whether we’d see a decrease in the budget in ’16 and ’17. We are doing the work now that...
We are pleased to announce that we have actually been approved to receive $4.5 million in federal funding under the Territorial Health Investment Fund for the development and initiation of an NWT oral health strategy. Based on the March 2014 report Brushing Up On Oral Health, we have developed an ambitious action plan for the development of an evidence-based strategy to improve the oral health status of NWT residents, particularly with a focus on our children. That number can actually be found on page 221 of this document, and it’s under the title work performed on behalf of others, and it...
That claim has never been made to me. I’d certainly be interested in where it came from and we could certainly look into the details, but that is not something that has been articulated to me in the past.
I can’t honestly remember which communities are actually currently filled and which communities are not filled. We do have turnover in these communities, but I will commit to getting that information for the Member.
I’d also like to ask the Member if he could share that document with us that articulates the individuals he feels are being failed and we can have further discussion on that as well. Thank you.
I agree with the Member. There is a significant cost to no-show rates both in productivity as well as frustration for those individuals who are on waiting lists. To talk about some of the detailed work that is being done, I will go to the deputy.
I actually forget the title, but it’s infrastructure funding for community governments. We will get that information confirmed from MACA and provide it to committee. I forget the name of the fund. Thank you.
Our long-term care facilities here in the Northwest Territories are staffed by competent professionals, including nurses and doctors, who actually can provide a wide range of services to individuals.
I would encourage any resident of the Northwest Territories who has concerns about their individual care to talk with their physicians to make sure that they are getting the services that they are entitled to in the Northwest Territories, and if they have any concerns about the quality within the facility, I would strongly encourage them to contact the quality assurance staff within the department...
Thank you, Madam Chair. It’s my understanding that that review by the auditors here in the Northwest Territories was done in 2008, and they made a number of recommendations. Most of them, I believe, we actually did incorporate into the health care cards here in the Northwest Territories.
We share the Member’s concerns. We want to make sure that our residents’ information is secure. We’ve had lots of conversations about some of the recent incidents around health care cards with the Information and Privacy Commissioner. She’s made a number of recommendations and we’re certainly looking at...
On Page 197, under community mental health and addictions there’s a budget line of $15.24 million. That’s where those dollars are.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I did have some initial conversations with the Minister of Health and Social Services for Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. They have since stopped being the Ministers of Health and Social Services, so I will follow up with the new Ministers to see if there’s any interest in a pan-territorial approach. Thank you.