Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I'll try to tease out the right information after listening to my colleagues from Kam Lake and Great Slave. I'm happy to hear that the Department of Health and Social Services, CPHO is going to review how we are guiding our restrictions. My first question to the Minister is: is the Department of Health and Social Services still using the Emerging Wisely plan to guide decisions around restrictions? Thank you,
Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for that question. Yes, Emerging Wisely is still the guiding document produced in May of last year. We know that there were a number of exemptions requested where items that were supposed to be loosened in phase 3 were loosened in phase 2, the phase that we are in now. What we're talking about is when we get into phase 3, and that is the work that will go on in April. Thank you.
Just trying to get going in the right direction here, again listening to my colleagues here. Given everything that we've seen over the last year, does that mean we will have a new, updated Emerging Wisely document with a clear timeline to easing restrictions?
My expectation is that the Emerging Wisely plan will be revised, and as the Member for Great Slave suggested, it will be a living document. There are so many variables that go into the CPHO's decision about risk assessment that it needs to be a living document, and it will be a living document. Putting a firm timeline on when we're going into phase 3 is very difficult to do, especially as the country now looks at locking down in other places because of the emergence of variants. Certainly, the idea of looking at phase 3 is to get ourselves ready for fewer restrictions.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister stated, new hospitals and machines only work if we have the people, and the people are healthcare workers that we rely on. I know we have faced a number of retention issues; they're nothing new to the North. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is: what is the number one reason that nurses are leaving the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Exit surveys are not consistently used, so I am unable to answer that question. Thank you.
That gets to my next question. If we're not tracking why our nurses are leaving, whether that be due to burnout, not getting paid enough, workplace culture, lack of housing, there can be a long list of reasons why a nurse does not leave. I note that the NWTA for teachers tracks this information diligently and in response to each of those concerns when a teacher decides to go down south. Is this part of the work the Department of Health and Social Services is doing in this area, is to track with exit interviews the reasons nurses leave the Northwest Territories?
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services system has created a human resource development plan. They've done that with the Department of Finance, and it's my understanding that exit surveys will be reviewed as a potential action item in this area so that we can provide the kind of information that the Member is talking about and gain a greater understanding of why nurses do choose to leave.
I recognize that is probably a suite of these questions I can also ask to the corresponding Minister for the Department of Finance. In the Department of Health and Social Services business plan, this year, we were supposed to have completed new recruitment and retention strategies to guide that work. Has that work been completed? I heard the Minister say the potential of exit surveys. What I am really looking for is a comprehensive strategy I can sit down and nurses can review to see where we are going. Has that work for new recruitment and retention strategies been completed yet?
I'm happy to report that this work is on track. We've had a total of 14 marketing and advertising campaigns for the hard-to-fill Health and Social Services positions in the last three months, including nine of these campaigns that are specific to nurses. We've expanded the Health and Social Services professions career guide, which provides information for potential candidates about careers in Health and Social Services in the Northwest Territories. We have education, continuing education initiatives for licenced practical nurses and RNs through the targeted academic support program. We also support continuing education initiatives for speciality nursing positions through an extended mentorship program. Finally, we have an activity and programming initiative called reach that involves students and youth in the Health and Social Services area to consider careers serving the public in this way.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to hear that work, and I know that some of the specialization work and the training to get people into nursing is some of the best work we're doing in this area. My concern is also specifically on the retention. I know there is new recruitment unit going out, and I know we are offering signing bonuses. We're attracting locums, and we're getting more people to come here. Previously, in a number of different formats, the department has offered retention benefits. These were service agreements. If you worked one year, you get a bonus at the conclusion of that year or some sort of benefit to stay longer in the position. The collective agreement allows us to do this. Are service agreements something the department is willing to return to using? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Just to provide some numbers for turnover, this is for March 31, 2020, the turnover rate at the NWT Health and Social Services Authority was 15 percent. For the GNWT as a whole it was 13.2 percent. Our turnover rate at the health authority is on par with the government as a whole. The NTHSSA does not offer retention bonuses at this point. All the compensation and benefits that nurses and health professionals earn are part of the current collective agreement with the UNW. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just sitting here thinking about the previous answers from the Minister of health on the 48 beds in Hay River. I have a problem that the projections were done, the decision was made with no consultation with the community. In Hay River and in other small communities, it's very important to engage the people who are there if we're going to make decisions. I would ask the Minister if she and her department are willing to keep an open mind when she hears from Hay River residents and concerned organizations, as well, with respect to the need for 48 beds in Hay River, or is the consultation process just a moot point? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my understanding that this is a genuine engagement. We do want to verify the numbers with residents of Hay River, and we plan to meet with the town council, the seniors' society, and with the Indigenous organizations. We want to make sure that we haven't overlooked or missed anything that is important to the calculation of these numbers, so I'm going to say this is a genuine way of getting community input into this. I don't know what the end result is, but I also ask the Member to keep an open mind that, in fact, 48 institutional beds may not be the best outcome for the residents of Hay River. Thank you.
I thank the Minister for that answer, and I will keep an open mind on that as I go around with her and listen to the comments and concerns from people in Hay River. One thing that she had mentioned previously, as well, is the catchment area. I realize Fort Providence, Kakisa, and Fort Resolution are in different regions, but the reality is that Hay River is a regional centre. It's a regional centre to Fort Providence, it's a regional centre to Kakisa and to Fort Resolution, and people come in from those communities for a number of reasons.
Right now, I think we have, in our extended facility, four people from Fort Providence and somebody from Fort Smith, Inuvik, and Fort Simpson, as well. We do get people from those areas, so I think that the department has to look at the reality of beyond the Deh Cho region or the South Slave, or whatever, and see what's real; and the real thing out there is that Hay River is a regional centre for the outlying communities. I would ask the Minister: will the Minister look at the reality of the Hay River catchment area, and will they consider that Fort Providence, Kakisa, and Fort Resolution are actually in that area? Because Hay River has doctors. I suspect that, if you have an extended-care facility, it's important to have doctors there. That's the question I have for the Minister.
Of those people who currently live at Woodland Manor, none are from Fort Resolution and none are from Kakisa, but four are from Fort Providence. It turns out that you can be in long-term care in the NWT wherever you want to be in long-term care, so while there are people in Woodland Manor who are not from Hay River, such as the person from Inuvik, and from Fort Smith and from Fort Simpson, likewise, there are people from Hay River who are in long-term care facilities in other parts of the NWT. This is a personal choice that they can make based on where their supports and their families are. Just because you live in Hay River doesn't mean you have to go into long-term care in Hay River. As I say, with respect to the catchment area, the only community that seems to have any residents within the Woodland Manor is Fort Providence, and therefore, four of the 23 are from Fort Providence.
Can the Minister confirm if timely access to a doctor is a consideration when assessing where long-term beds will be located?
The long-term care facilities are located or will be located in hubs where there is a greater medical staff presence and also a greater opportunity to recruit and retain nurses, but a physician is not essential. I think about the long-term care centre in Norman Wells. I don't believe Norman Wells has a doctor, but there is long-term care there. I think it's a nice-to-have rather than a must-have.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since I'm willing to keep an open mind, I would ask the Minister: what additional resources would be provided to the Hay River Health Authority to make sure that we're providing the homecare services that are required? Are we looking at additional dollars? Are we looking at additional infrastructure? Are we looking at additional funds to help support people who do want to stay in homes? Thank you.
My vision is that more people will live in their own homes with homecare support than live in long-term care, and in order to achieve that, we need to invest in nurses, personal support workers. We have to evaluate the outcome of the paid community caregiver program and see which resources best fit the needs for people who are trying to age in place. The home and community care study that was tabled about 18 months ago has specific numbers of nurses and personal support workers required to make aging in place work, and there is no budget item for them at this point. It certainly is my expectation that there will be a budget item and there will be a specific number of staff hired to take care of the people who want to age in place. I would refer the Member to the home and community care study to find the detail, and if he finds that that's lacking, by all means ask again. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The questions, again, are for the Minister of health. I want to talk about: when we talk about extended care, we have a couple of people in there who are probably younger than 50 or younger than 60. In Hay River, we do have an independent or an assisted-living facility there, but the problem is that, to get in there, you have to wait two or three or four years. Has the department, in looking at the needs on the extended-care side, considered the shortcomings on the assisted-living side? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are, according to my notes, two people under 60 who live at Woodland Manor, so it's two out of 23. I don't believe that the people who live in the assisted-living facilities' needs have specifically been taken into account in the long-term care. The long-term care is really about institutional care for elders who require high levels of nursing care on a day-to-day, 24-7 basis. Having said that, there is now a supported living review going on, the department has an RFP out to choose a contractor to do that, so that we can look at how we can, first of all, repatriate people who are in out-of-territory placements and, secondly, how we can increase capacity in the NWT for people who need assisted living who are not also elderly. Thank you.
In Hay River, we've got the 10 new beds that they built a few years ago, and we have 15 existing that were in Woodland Manor. My concern is that, by putting in 24 versus 48, I'm not sure what's going to happen to Woodland Manor, and my concern is that they may do what they're doing with the old hospital and knock it down. I haven't really heard of any plans to turn it into anything else at this point. One area that we're really deficient on in our extended care in Woodland Manor is a place for dementia patients. We probably have several there right now, and I don't think they have the support they require. I would ask the Minister: has that been taken into consideration when you looked at the extended-care facility?
According to my information, nine of 23 clients at Woodland Manor have dementia, and I certainly do recognize that residents with dementia need additional care. We don't want them to roam or leave or hurt themselves or be lost. It's my understanding that all of the new builds for long-term care centres take into account dementia as a diagnosis and they are constructed to keep dementia patients safe, so that is a consideration in all of the long-term care builds. As things stand now, we only have a long-term care facility here in Yellowknife. We recognize that, going forward, people want their family members to be at home, so it makes more sense to do it the other way, where all centres are for dementia patients, rather than having only a specialized centre in Yellowknife.
One of the issues that come up, as well, is that, when you have an elderly couple and one has to go into extended care, the spouse may be required to live elsewhere, and we separate them. Has there been any consideration by the department at looking at putting smaller independent-living units on the site where extended-care Woodland Manor in Hay River currently is, to allow for couples to be together and grow old together? Recently, we had a couple who had to move out-of-territory, someone who was born and raised here, even though they wanted to stay here. It's sad to see that, so I'm just wondering if the department has used that as a consideration, as well.
I'm not sure if the department has specifically considered that scenario. If it's independent living, it sounds like this would be part of the Housing Corporation's offerings for seniors' housing. Obviously, it would be our intention to keep couples together. They should be together at the end of their lives, as they have been through their lives, and so we would want that to happen. However, how that is going to look in long-term care, I'm not really sure how that's going to look, whether there will be suites available to accommodate couples rather than rooms for single people.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would ask the Minister if there have been any preliminary designs for either a 48- or a 24-bed for Hay River, because I look at the cost of a 48-bed, which would probably be less than doing two 24s. This whole exercise is going to end up costing more money to this government if we split that building. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The issues we're talking about here go beyond budgets and money. Aging in place is what most seniors want for themselves. They want to stay in their home. They want to have services that come to them from the community, whether it's a nurse or a personal support worker or a family member, and they want these people to assist them to remain independent for as long as possible. That's really the future for elders in the Northwest Territories and in the country as a whole. Long-term care has turned out to be a disaster in southern Canada. It has turned out to be a place where way too many people have died because of poor or no standards, poor regulation, issues around having people work in multiple places for very low wages. We are fortunate here in the sense that the government offers long-term care and so there is accountability. There isn't a need to make a profit. We can accommodate people where they are.
What I want to say to the Member is that, if there are sketches and cost assessments, I'm not aware of them, and if there are those, they would be out of date. The costs and estimates would be out of date. I'm not aware of anything new going on here, but I would really like the Member to turn his mind to the benefits of aging in place, which we recognized by putting it into our mandate and which most people prefer to being in an institutional setting. Thank you.
Merci, Monsieur le President. My questions are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Responsibilities established in the mandate letter of the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs include "the development and maintenance of community governments... with sufficient legal authority and resources to carry out community responsibilities." Can the Minister state which NWT communities have been placed under supervision during the past five years and:
When and where MACA or other Government of the Northwest Territories staff have been seconded or assigned to community governments to provide support during a vacancy of senior administrative officer or finance officer positions over the last five years;
What activities MACA has undertaken to facilitate the staffing of vacant community government senior administrative staff positions;
The type, number, and uptake of training opportunities through the School of Community Government or other special training opportunities to build senior administrative positions capacity at the community level; and
The type and level of support to the local government administrators of the NWT (LGANT) to expand that organization's activities for senior administrative position recruitment, training, and retention. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I have a provisional return to written question asked by the Member for Nunakput regarding practice of using power-limiters in the Northwest Territories. I have received the information late and will provide a formal return tomorrow, March 30, 2021. Mahsi.
