Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really don’t know where to begin with this. Obviously, you know where my questions are going. The Minister stated earlier that he doesn’t feel that there’s no better use for the $300,000 for these discussion forums that are going on. I beg to differ, and I’m very concerned, and I do disagree, and I’m sure there are a lot of people in the medical field and justice system that would also be concerned with this attitude, as the Minister of Health and Social Services, that he feels that money cannot be better spent other than talking about what we already know is a problem.
My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services is in terms of detox, because we do need it in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services confirm how many hospital beds are specifically designated for medical detox in the Northwest Territories?
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can confirm that no beds are specifically designated for detox at any hospital in the Northwest Territories.
As I said, he stated earlier that he didn’t feel the money could not be better spent other than talking about what we already know is a concern. With $300,000 we could hire a couple more nurses and designate some beds in the hospitals in Yellowknife and Inuvik or Norman Wells or Hay River for the people who need it. That’s where I’m trying to get the question. It’s very disheartening to sit on this side and listen to the Minister of Health make those comments and let us know that there are no detox beds in the Northwest Territories that he can confirm.
My second question is in terms of the policy for the amount of days that a person needs to be sober to access treatment either here in the Northwest Territories or when we have to send them down south, which I totally disagree with as well. What is the policy for the GNWT for the amount of days somebody needs to be sober to access treatment that they need that we’re making it difficult for them to access?
The policy on the length of time individuals wait is client specific. So it would depend on the counsellor availability, the number of clients waiting, the client’s need, and when the next bed in the treatment facility is available. There are a few factors. Any resident that has a crisis, that is in immediate risk, can actually get in to see a counsellor and the counsellor may be able to get that individual out to a treatment centre or detox centre or designate a bed in a hospital for an individual in an emergency type of situation where we felt there was some immediate risk.
I really enjoy when the Minister speaks about addictions and gives us his point of view on things. He said immediate risk. We’re not always dealing with people who have immediate risk and, actually, as we know, in mental health workers, we are short on that and there’s a big waiting list in that sense as well.
The coroner’s report specifies that 49 percent of alcohol-related deaths are suicides. So there is a great correlation here. Until they have to be in immediate risk, then will we help them? No. That doesn’t make sense.
What is the Minister doing to ensure that we do have the medical health counsellors in place in the communities where there is a big backlog right now? What is his plan to get that addressed?
We are in constant communication with the health authorities across the health and social services. We recognize that we have vacancies across the board in every area. We have 27 percent vacancy in social workers, 16 percent vacancy for nurses. Those are two of the numbers that I know off the top of my head. There are vacant positions recognizing mental health counsellors and wellness counsellors and so on.
We wish there were no vacancies, but we go out and try to fill the vacancies working with the authorities. We do put pressure on the authorities to be able to fill the positions. There are always other factors. Housing is generally a factor. Sometimes there’s nothing available on the market for individuals when they need to relocate a social worker. We sometimes use locums to address the issues from nearby regional centres, but aside from that, I guess we’re just doing the regular thing and trying to fill positions, put out advertisements, and going through that process.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to make reference to what the Minister said earlier, as well, that we need to get communities committed. Does the Minister not think these communities are committed after listening to the coroner’s report that alcohol-related deaths are at 49 percent, suicides are at 50 percent, accidental deaths are at 76 percent, or homicides? Those stats would make my community committed to getting detox and treatment centres in the communities even more.
Specifically to treatment programs, I would like to ask the Minister of Health what specific programs are not offered in the Northwest Territories that we do have to send our residents to southern treatment centres where they actually have to come back with a supp to top up the dollars. What specific programs are we not offering in the Northwest Territories that we should be addressing right now?
It’s nothing specific. In the cases where individuals are going to treatment and apply for treatment down south, or there’s a recommendation from the authority through the community counselling for an individual to go for treatment down south is usually because of the complex nature of the individual’s addictions. Sometimes addictions and mental health are very, very closely associated. I think 40, I hate to mention the percentage, but I think over half of the individuals that go for counselling for addictions also had mental health issues.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
