Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I won't be singing my questions by the way.
So, Mr. Speaker, diabetes in the Northwest Territories are certainly, you know, well above the national average. As a matter of fact, groups like the Metis have some of the highest diabetes affected in the context of ethnicity. NWT Indigenous women are certainly well above the Canadian average. And, Mr. Speaker, our regional centres suffer enormously with the high levels of diabetes and the lack of care.
My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is how is she planning to change this narrative by extending diabetic supports and care outside of the headquarters region of Yellowknife? Thank you.
Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not sure I understand if the question is the direction from the headquarters or because in all of the regions, we have regional diabetes educators. We have community health representative workers that work with you know, with health promotion and health in that area so if the you know, if there's a specific question, I would try to get the answer for the Member. Thank you.
Well, it's a twopronged question, Mr. Speaker. The same question by the way. But, you know, it's the sense of the accessibility to diabetic supports, and without revisiting the earlier questions, it's about wait time getting a doctor to supply the information in the context of diagnosis and treatment of those supports. So, Mr. Speaker, my understanding is Yellowknife's the only area you can get dialysis and other types of supports for diabetic care. And I'd like to ask the Minister, again, is how is she going to expand this type of support services to those communities and regions to ensure they have that type of support? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, I think Yellowknife has the dialysis for people that are in kidney failure, and I believe that the last last term, the Member from Hay River South advocated very hard for Hay River to have a dialysis and that is currently running there. But as for diabetes and services, you know, outside of Yellowknife, the, you know, access to diabetes information, there the hospitals in Inuvik and Hay River, the health centre in Fort Smith, the you know, the community health centres. And, again, like I said, home care works with a lot of our diabetes patients and the diabetes educators in Yellowknife. You know, there's a lot of the health promotion stuff in Yellowknife. So thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be willing to investigate and report back on how many people have to come to Yellowknife from our regions and smaller communities for these types of support services specific to diabetes? Thank you.
Yes. Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member from Yellowknife Centre.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, upon that analysis, would the Minister be willing to take it to FMB to expand services and support programs to the communities and regions based on that type of information; will she become the new advocate? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I guess I'm confused. With diabetes, people see access outside of Yellowknife. They access the physician. They are able to get their prescriptions for their you know, the medication that they're on. They're able to get the you know, the necessary tools that they need to check their blood sugar. There's many this is available outside of Yellowknife. So I can look into further what patients, if they are travelling to Yellowknife for diabetes services but I you know, I'll just leave it at that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Yellowknife North.
