Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just listening to my colleague from Nunakput, I know that has been an issue that I have raised in the past on NIHB and dental services in the communities, and I know that NIHB pays 100 percent for people with a T and who are First Nation status, all the travel costs for dental, just from my past career. However, I do know that they have really stringent travel criteria for travelling for medical emergencies. That's one of the problems. Another problem is that, when they access emergency dental care, they don't have it, so they go to the health centre. They go there usually after hours or during regular appointments, and the staff don't always realize what the process is because, as a health practitioner in a health centre, it's a non-insured health benefit. It's not an insured service, so sometimes, they turn them away or tell them to call the Inuvik dental clinic, for my region. That's what usually ends up happening, and then it ends with that. Then we get the call.
My first question is: will the Minister have her department or her working group that she had mentioned reach out with NIHB to come up with a plan to allow for a quick and easy process to access out-of-community dental services, as needed, and possibly lightening up some of those restrictions, knowing that we haven't had dentists in over a year? They have bad teeth in the communities, and a lot of them are on wait lists for oral surgery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member mentioned, this is an NIHB service and the travel requirements are their travel requirements. I do not have an opportunity to address those requirements. Thank you.
I just want to advise the Minister that the NIHB, actually, we have a department in Inuvik in the office, an NIHB office, that gives money to pay for travel for the travelling dentists, so we are kind of involved with this. I think that having that discussion at that table, again, I will ask the Minister to commit to having a discussion with that NIHB office about the travel restrictions and the criteria so we can access dental services for the people in the communities that don't have it.
I can have that conversation.
Thank you to the Minister. Will the Minister also have a discussion with the department in the emergency, because I know the last time the previous health Minister had made the commitment and said that there are instructions on how to access emergency dental service in the health centres, and just make sure that I can get commitment that there is this information in the health centres and the staff are aware of it?
I do not have that information at hand, but I can find it.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
