Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the HRHSSA uses locum physicians to deliver healthcare in the community. My understanding as to why locums are used is that they are a means to support continuity of service for their gaps in recruitment and retention or where permanent positions are not available. However, the use of locums has become the norm for Hay River; therefore, Mr. Speaker, I ask the Minister of health, has there been an assessment or a study completed to determine if there's a gap in the quality of healthcare delivered by locums versus that of permanent physicians? If so, will the Minister share that information with me. If one has not been completed, will she commit the department to undertake in such an assessment. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the questions. There has not been a specific quality review of locums versus resident doctors. I'd like to say that they all have to obtain the same kind of licensing. So locums are not second best to resident doctors; they have the same qualifications. We have recently, as you may know, embarked on primary healthcare reform which has healthcare delivered in teams. And one of the reasons for this reform is to provide continuity of care to residents. So while you may not be seeing the same doctor each time, you may be familiar with other members of the care team such as the nurse practitioner or the nurse. So the fact is that with a vacancy rate of 45 percent for doctors throughout the NWT, most of us are seeing locums for our doctor needs. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, timely access to healthcare and proper diagnosis is very important to residents of Hay River and the surrounding communities. I hear more often now that those who can afford it are bypassing medical travel and making their way south to seek those very services that are not being delivered here on a timely and consistent basis. For those that don't have financial resources to travel, they are forced to wait for services.
Mr. Speaker, we are seeing an increase in payments for outofterritory healthcare. What is the reason for it, and will the department consider covering medical travel for those taking the extra step to seek timely healthcare services outside the NWT? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we don't pay for people to bypass the public system. They need to engage with local healthcare providers in order to get a referral for services not offered within the territory. And if they obtain that referral, they would also be eligible for medical travel. But these are things that need to be done in advance. I see a trend of people coming to me after they have spent the money asking for a reimbursement. I want to be clear that's not how it works. How it works is you go to your healthcare team and you tell them what your issue it and you get into the referral process, which will then provide the care that you need. So if that is not happening for the Member's constituents, I recommend that they contact the Office of Client Experience and point out the gap in that service and have it rectified. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NTHSSA recruits positions for Hay River, and it is not working, as we continually see notices from HRHSSA confirming physician shortages which translate into fewer services.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the HRHSSA, I ask the Minister if her department is willing to shift the responsibility of physician recruitment back to the HRHSSA? Failing that, then maybe, just maybe, it is time for this government to dig deep and come up with the required funds to integrate the HRHSSA into the NTHSSA and if that is what is needed to improve healthcare for Hay River and area residents. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the NTHSSA has a MOU with the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority to provide physician services. And that MOU is now under review to determine what the best way forward is. So it's unclear to me that not having this MOU or not having some kind of formal arrangement would serve Hay River any better than it's being served now.
In terms of bringing the Hay River authority into the NTHSSA, that was last looked at seriously in 2015. A lot has changed since then, but there hasn't been any additional work done on the cost of bringing the health authority in. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, healthcare in the North appears to be falling apart. And I know people not receiving proper medical diagnosis or not receiving proper medical care at all. This is causing stress in the community, families, and patients' physical and mental health. Mr. Speaker, right now we need physicians in Hay River. We have none. In fact, we need 5.6 FTEs, Mr. Speaker. I ask the Minister if she will commit to providing Hay River with those positions immediately? After all, our health is no less important than those living in Yellowknife or other areas. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me say initially that this isn't just a Hay River problem. With a 45 percent vacancy rate, there is a doctor shortage throughout the whole of the NWT. We continue to actively recruit doctors, and we have had some success but, ultimately, we still do have a large vacancy rate. So there's no way I can commit to immediately providing the seven doctors allocated to Hay River Health and Social Services. The best thing that can happen here is for word of mouth from existing physicians and medical people to their networks to encourage them to give the NWT a try.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Nunakput.
