In my Member’s statement today I made reference to impacts of the doctor shortage in Inuvik and the delivery of community clinics on my constituents. There are costs of both financially in terms of residents’ continued health and well-being to justify greater recruitment and effort on the part of the Health and Social Services Department and Human Resources.
Can the Minister please outline if there any extra considerations for doctors who may wish to practice in the Beaufort-Delta.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Member for the question.
Mr. Speaker, we are experiencing a very unusual situation, even within the environment of pressures we normally feel, in terms of shortages of health care professionals.
We are short of four doctors in Nunakput, and it’s because two of them…. Well, we normally have about eight, and we’re funded for nine. But we’re operating with about five, because two doctors have left to practise elsewhere and two are currently on leave.
So the Beaufort-Delta authority has made a choice of something that they’ve never done before, which is to not be able to have doctors visit the communities. We’re looking for locums to fill these positions as soon as possible. We’re hoping to have the full complement by the end of March.
Has the government considered talking to the N.W.T. Medical Association about getting their agreement on the increased pay and benefit package for those doctors who’d be willing to live in the communities outside Yellowknife?
Mr. Speaker, as the House is aware, there are currently negotiations going on between the doctors and the government, so I have to refrain from commenting on anything like that. But I could advise the Member, Mr. Speaker, this is not really…. This is an unusual circumstance, where we are operating with about half of the normal complement of doctors. It is a situation which we are working to fix.
In the general term and in the long term, the department continues to work to improve our packages and our working conditions and training opportunities and everything else to make this place an attractive place for health care professionals, including doctors in rural areas.
Is the Minister aware of any telehealth terminals in any communities — the health centres — that are not operational?
The telehealth program is in the process of being expanded. In Nunakput, we have services available, and in Inuvik, Ulukhaktok, and I believe we put a new one in Tuktoyaktuk. There’s a lot of services being rendered through the telehealth system. However, we hope to expand those services as well.
Final supplementary, Mr. Jacobson.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the department getting the telehealth program up and running in the communities that are capable of doing it.
Thank you, Mr. Jacobson. I didn’t hear a question there.
