Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today in my Member’s statement, I was speaking about the Department of Health and Social Services pretty much stripping community authority over the Deh Cho Health and Social Services in my region. I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services what is going on here and what is the plan for the community. Originally when the board was not reappointed, the intent there was to reassess and evaluate and improve programs and services, but now we’re going to lose governing power over our board. I don’t think that was the intent and it’s not the intent of my communities to support that.
So I’d like to know what is the plan for Deh Cho Health and Social Services. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At this point the plan for the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority is to remain with the public administrator – myself and the public administrator spoke – for at least two years in order to do some of the work that we think is necessary, some of the issues that we’re dealing with in the Deh Cho Health and Social Services. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Certainly, there were some issues there, like elders continuing to be sent home with aspirins instead of getting proper checkups. There was another instance of an incomplete and misdiagnosed elder who broke her wrist and wasn’t diagnosed for months. So I know that the public administrator was just put in place, but what is the plan to improve the programs and services for Deh Cho health and social services at this point? Thank you.
Thank you. The plan is to do consultation with the communities in the Deh Cho. One of the things that may have been misconstrued was the intent to try to provide better medical service to three of the communities in the Deh Cho by providing that medical service out of Hay River. The social services side of all of the Deh Cho, including the Hay River Reserve, Fort Providence and Kakisa where we are contemplating providing medical services out of Hay River as opposed to out of Fort Simpson, will all remain with the Deh Cho communities. So social services side of it, there will be no change in who is providing the service. Now we’re trying to figure out how Hay River can provide medical service to the three communities geographically closer to Hay River than they are to Fort Simpson. Thank you.
The communities certainly want to have these consultations, they want to be advised, they want to be involved. But at the same time, rumours continue to persist. Improving services like providing better services to the communities surrounding Hay River and using their facilities certainly makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is removing the power and control over the Deh Cho Health and Social Services. So what is the plan there and will the Minister address that?
Thank you. In all honesty, there was an idea at some point to increase the role in Hay River in the management of some of the Deh Cho communities. However, that was not accepted. It was something that we discussed for a very short time period and that was something that the communities in the Deh Cho did not accept. The new public administrator that was appointed to replace the board did not accept that, based on his discussions with the leadership in the Deh Cho. So we are not planning on rolling Deh Cho Health and Social Services under the Hay River authority.
In Hay River we will provide some support to Deh Cho Health and Social Services under the Hay River authority. In Hay River we will provide some support to Deh Cho Health and Social Services because currently Deh Cho Health and Social Services doesn’t have a CEO and neither does Hay River, so we’re moving some people around within our system to support all of the authorities. Specifically, we’re trying to provide some of the support from Hay River as well as Yellowknife to the Deh Cho region.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to hear that that was just a bird’s eye view and that they’re not going there. Once again, Mr. Minister had travelled with me earlier in the year to the Nahendeh communities, and I would like to continue to invite him to complete the tour. Then I think we may have to make an extended tour again, because people do want to hear more about Deh Cho Health and Social Services, they want the programs and services to improve.
So will the Minister come with me on a tour, and as well as a plan with his department of addressing consultations with the communities as well?
I’m certainly willing to complete the tour and even go back to the communities that the MLA and I travelled to already. Also, I agreed recently to start a bit of dialogue with the deputy minister to have a consultation with chiefs, the public administrator, the MLAs, and anybody else that would be impacted on any decisions that we make pertaining to Deh Cho Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.
