Thank you. I’m just anxious to dive in on this topic of locums and resident physicians, but that’s not my question today. My question is to the Minister of Health and Social Services.
We have excessive and rising costs in delivering health and social services programs to the residents of the Northwest Territories. Over a number of years I have raised this concern: If I’m a resident of Hay River and I’m having surgery at Stanton Territorial Hospital on Monday morning, I must have the pre-op work done on Friday, which means that someone has to come here on Friday, get their pre-op lab work done and then go for their surgery on Monday morning. This has been a long-standing problem and issue. If the person comes over here at their own expense because they’re self-employed or don’t have insurance coverage, they have a choice. They can either fly up Friday and fly home and incur that cost, or they can come up and stay for the weekend and incur that cost, because we all know there’s no place to stay for patients from other communities when they come to Yellowknife, unless you can get into the Vital Abel Boarding Home, and that is limited.
So here’s my question: We have a lab in our hospital in Hay River that does blood work for everything else. Why can’t we streamline the system so that when someone needs blood work and lab work done to ensure they’re ready for surgery on Monday, why can’t that be done in Hay River and those results communicated somehow to Stanton so that we can avoid these problems? It’s ongoing, it continues, it costs us money, it costs our patients money. What are we going to do about it? Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Those decisions for lab work are requested by a doctor. As we indicated here earlier today, most of the doctors are located here in Yellowknife. I mean, I’m sure that we can use a system where the lab in Hay River can be used if a doctor goes down there to take a look at the results of lab work, but at this time it’s a clinical decision and made by physicians. Thank you.
May I suggest that getting a doctor to go to Hay River would also be inexpensive? I mean it would be expensive and cost prohibitive; sorry.
I was in Alaska once and had a medical test done, which was then beamed to a doctor at his house in Texas and who responded right back on what the answer was. I mean, we are only 100 miles away between Hay River and Yellowknife. Surely there’s a way that, okay, the guy doing the surgery, the doctor doing the surgery on the Monday morning wants certain tests done and lab work done. Why can those requisitions for lab work not be sent to Hay River, have the work done there, communicate the results to the surgeon that’s going to do the operation on Monday morning, and save the patient all this wear and tear and expense?
As I indicated, the decision is made by the doctor that’s doing the surgery. If we could go back to discuss the change here, I think we would be prepared to do that as a department, to discuss with the doctor why he makes those decisions on how he has the persons tested up here and then the individual doesn’t actually get the operation until Monday. We can, as a department, go to the doctors and find out why that occurs and get back to the Member.
This is 2012. This is the day and age of modern communications and quick communications. It is hard to believe that we as a medical system cannot come up with a better communication system from one health authority, one medical institution to another that could allow this to be done. This is this organization at its worst. This is a subject that has been brought to me on more than one occasion by many constituents. We have to come to Yellowknife. If you want to have a baby, come to Yellowknife. If you want to have surgery, come to Yellowknife. Well then, let’s find ways as a government to make this more affordable and easier for those who are living outside of the capital. Thank you.
Sorry; there was no question there. I’d like to ask the Minister if he could describe for us what communication channel is currently available between the health authority in Hay River and the Stanton Territorial Hospital that would allow the transmission of lab results or requisitions.
The Department of Health or the health authorities have recently improved the electronic health records. Electronic health records can be used and transmitted from community to community electronically.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to ask the Minister if he would commit to considering the surgery schedule for NWT residents from outside of the capital that would allow them, if necessary, to have their lab work done the same week as they’re having their surgery done, to prevent that travel, and if he would also investigate if somehow we could enhance the transmission of requisitions and results from lab procedures between health authorities.
It would be difficult for me to commit on the work of doctors. However, I will promise the Member that we will have a full discussion to ask the doctors why there is surgery on a different week than when the tests are done, so that the tests are done in the same week. We have no problem whatsoever to having that full discussion with the doctors and get back to the Member with those results.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
