Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is directed to the Minister of Health and Social Services on the dental services in the Sahtu region. Last month the dentist was in Tulita. They were booked from morning to nighttime and one person wanted to see the dentist, but because it was so booked they put the person on the cancellation list, and the cancellation list was so long that this person had to wait until 19 people had cancelled their appointment before she could get in and see the dentist. I want to ask the Minister what type of plans does his department have to see if they can have a full-time dentist in the Sahtu and maybe Norman Wells, that type of service like we have in the other regional centres where dentists are situated permanently in the community? We need dental care in the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Health, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finding dentists in the Northwest Territories is a difficult task. We have great dental care in some of the regional centres; that is a fact. It is difficult to get dentists in other areas and that’s the reason for the huge backlog, because even offering out tenders… The various authorities at the regional level put out tenders and we’re not getting a good response. When we do get a response, people come in. That’s exactly the type of work that the dentists are doing. They’re trying to play catch-up. It’s very difficult for dentists to put together a good plan with one specific client because they’re so busy doing things like fillings and extractions and so on. It’s just a game of catch-up at this point; I recognize that. Thank you.
The Minister has made some very valuable points that are noted here. Finding a dentist can be a very difficult task; however, we’re talking about lives that are so important that we need to have the dentists in our community. We’re playing with people’s lives if we don’t have the proper care.
I want to ask the Minister what plans… If during this difficult task of finding great dentists, is he working with some northern dentists where the prices may be somewhat higher but we have the services in the Sahtu?
People need them. It’s not like putting a bridge across the Mackenzie River. These are people; these are human beings that need these essential services. What is the Minister doing?
The model that we talked about today, this morning in fact, meeting with the Tlicho Community Services Agency where they have a dental therapist on staff, and the dental therapist works at the school and works in the community, and in that way just a little higher level than just a dental hygienist which will work in advance of the dentist. That dental therapist does do some of the dental work but not the work of a full dentist. The goal would be to move in that direction, try to get dental therapists into the communities and that should alleviate those backlogs at the community level. Thank you.
I want to share with the Minister my written questions here. So that was leading up to my second question. Can the Minister tell me when can the Sahtu see such a program like a dental therapist coming into our communities that can do prevention? Otherwise, we’re going to have this come up in the House again in February. So when can the Minister advise me and the people in the Sahtu that there is going to be some plans in place to look at dental therapists in our communities, in our schools? Then I can say, “Good government.”
Although I can’t come up with an exact, specific date, I can say that because we are moving into prevention, and one of the keys to health prevention of illnesses is having good teeth to be able to chew your food properly and that is very important. The department sees that as one of the essential services that are needed at the community level. So we’re moving onto that as quickly as possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look forward to as soon as possible looking at some of the plans that will ensure they increase the services of dentists in the Sahtu, or any type of program that takes care of the peoples’ teeth.
I want to ask the Minister what type of support is he giving to people who have emergencies in cases such as the ones we have been dealing with in the past, the ones that we’re looking at to support people. If they cannot wait, they need to be flown out to the larger centres to have their teeth fixed. Sometimes it has to come out of their own pocket to pay for the travel, and for the hotels and meals. What type of support is given to people who need to see a dentist as soon as possible on an emergency basis?
At this point we’re using a referral through the health and social services authorities across the regions to have the individual approach them and then them going through the system. In cases where individuals are coming directly to find their own dental services, like driving into a community where there are good dentists or when they arrive in the communities where they know there are good dentists and approach them themselves, they have not sorted that specific issue out at this time, but we’re working on sorting out those issues as well.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
