Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was asking questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services about the accident that happened in Nahanni Butte. He told us that it was four and a half hours by the time medevac were there. Can the Minister advise us: how long did it take before the planes left there? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, med response was activated at 1:20 and the plane landed at 5:57 p.m. I don't actually remember the time where the plane actually crashed, but there was time on the ground before med response was actually engaged. I think that might have been an hour or two, which would take it to the seven hours. As far as the amount of time it took the plane to get in once engaged, it was four for a half hours. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister's answer. I guess my question was: what time did medevac take off from Nahanni Butte and Fort Liard? That's the time I'm looking at.
The plane landed in Nahanni Butte at 5:57 p.m., at which point they would have had to assess patients, make sure that they were stable for air transport, make sure that it was safe to do so. That can, depending on the severity of the injuries, take a little bit of time. They would also have to transport the individuals from the health centre where they are being treated to the airplane.
I don't know the exact number of minutes or seconds it took for them to get from there to taking off, wheels up, but I will ask the department to get me that information. I will certainly share it with the Member.
I appreciate the Minister bringing forth that information to me later on when he gets it. I'm not asking minutes or seconds. I'm asking how long, you know, what time. What time did it take off?
In speaking with the residents in Nahanni Butte, they were hoping that a debriefing team would be coming into the community for this type of incident. As a lot of residents were doing their best to pull together and ensuring everybody that was involved, the injured people were taken care to their best ability; some residents felt very stressed over the whole incident. Did this happen?
Following the incident in Nahanni Butte, the community counselling team based in Fort Liard were in regular and constant contact with the community of Nahanni Butte. They were also in contact with the affected staff and available for questions and support as needed. The territorial mental health and addictions program had an additional counsellor in Fort Simpson from August 18th to 21st. They provided on-call support as needed to the region in person, as well as via telephone and telehealth. That was in the region.
The community counsel team also travelled to Nahanni Butte the week of August 20th to provide some extra services and help extend visits to the week of August 20th. Some people did go in, but the results were more people in the region could do stuff by phone.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Nahendeh.
Thank you. I thank the Minister and department for doing that. That was a big concern when I was there actually the day after the accident happened. That was a big concern. I commend the department and the Minister for getting people in there. That made a big difference there.
Mr. Speaker, when I was in there, the health staff, you know, that was a lot of stress put on that person. Then they had an individual who was former staff helping out there. Did the department actually reach out to those individuals to work with them, to debrief with them, and help them move forward? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On August 22nd, a counsellor with the GNWT Family Assistance Program, the FAP, travelled to the community of Fort Simpson and provided additional counselling services to the region. She was available to meet with staff through the region, including Nahanni Butte via phone, via telehealth, and in person for those individuals who were in the community as needed. If community members still required counselling supports, they were encouraged to reach out to the Fort Liard counselling team as well.
The GNWT staff are also eligible for the Employee Family Assistance Program services for additional counselling support, and if they are interested in continuing counselling services, we are happy to make that available for our staff who were there and had to live through that event. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
