Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I'm going to speak about medical travel policy. This past week, I have been dealing with three different medical travel issues. Each issue involved individual patients over the age of 65. Mr. Speaker, the first patient had to move from a small community to a major center because of medical challenges their family was facing. Recently, this individual had to go out for medical travel. Because of the move, this individual does not have the support system in this community.
Mr. Speaker, to make matters worse, this patient was informed that non-medical escorts will not be provided to accompany this person. This individual is over 65 years old. Not only does this patient need a non-medical escort for physical support but for emotional support. Mr. Speaker, to further this issue, the patient continues to tell Edmonton that more advanced notice is needed so arrangements can be made. I understand they are trying their best on their end, scheduling surgery upon cancellations et cetera, but we need to think about the patient too.
Mr. Speaker, the second situation that I had to deal with was a patient that was almost 70 years old. This patient was medevaced out of the community with a non-medical escort. To say the least, this trip was a bit confusing for the patient. He was not sure where he had to stay and did not have enough funds for food. Once this issue was brought to the attention of the staff at Deh Cho, they worked hard to ensure the situation was improved. The family and I are thankful for them and the staff from Yellowknife to ensure the patient was looked after once they were aware of the problem. However, we still had to deal with a person over the age of 65 without a non-medical escort.
Mr. Speaker, the third situation dealt with a patient that ended up travelling to Fort Nelson BC for a medical appointment. The family felt the patient who was over the age of 80 needed to go to Fort Nelson instead of Fort Simpson. They felt the extra hour's drive was not good for the patient. Mr. Speaker, the family ensured this patient had an escort that could help and ensured the concerns were translated to the doctors. Unfortunately, this did not stop here. I spent the Friday afternoon working with a person from BC and the Deh Cho staff to get them home. Thanks to all staff involved, they were able to get a place to stay, have something to eat and made it home. Mr. Speaker, I wish to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Unanimous consent granted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks colleagues. Mr. Speaker, the issue is the ministerial policy on Medical Travel Benefits. I was directed to Section 6 provisions for clarification on benefits of approved non-medical escorts. Mr. Speaker, nowhere in the policy does it state that past the certain age a person requires an escort, nor does following up with our HSS System Navigator looking for help if the people are not computer literate.
Mr. Speaker, we were very lucky that these three elders made it home safe and sound thanks to staff and people working together, and I'm thankful for that; however, we should not always rely on luck. Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Member for Frame Lake.
