Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to follow up with my question in my Member’s statement to the Minister of Health and Social Services on the powers of the Minister under the health act. It does indeed describe the powers of the Minister and it says that the Minister may, and gives a whole list of items. Under (a) it refers to licensing, supervision and inspection of health facilities and social services facilities in the Northwest Territories to ensure that adequate standards are maintained for those facilities.
We have health centres throughout the Northwest Territories in almost every one of our communities. In order for those facilities to be functional, you have to have people delivering the programs and services. I’d like to ask the Minister what exactly she is doing with what’s happening in Tsiigehtchic. It’s been quite a few years since we’ve seen the service provided fully. I’d like to ask the Minister what she is doing to ensure there are going to be functional facilities in the Northwest Territories when it comes to health care facilities in our communities.
Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for Health and Social Services, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The act also allows us to set up boards and that’s what we operate under in the Northwest Territories. The community of Tsiigehtchic does have a health centre and it does have staff. It has a community health rep that works there year round. We also have physicians and specialists that visit that facility as well as the nurses who provide services for almost four months up to half the year.
Four months of the year is not an adequate service. If anything, like my colleague from Nahendeh, similar to the situation in Wrigley, Tsiigehtchic is in the same predicament. I had a verbal commitment from the Minister that there was going to be a position filled February 1st. I passed that on to the community, it was passed off to the community leaders who were being told something different.
I’d like to ask the Minister, as the Minister responsible for the establishment of health boards it also stipulates that the Minister, in regard to powers of the boards, by either directive or other written instructions issued by the Minister who can direct them to ensure that you have a full-time position in those communities to make them functional. Has the Minister submitted a written request or directed the health board to make sure that they have a full-time nurse in those communities?
For the record, I need to say that I don’t understand where the February 1st came from. The Member is well aware that we’ve been working through many hours in this House to work on our health care delivery system so that we have enhanced services in communities by changing the way we do things. That’s the plan under Foundation for Change. But as it exists now, we give our block funding to the regional health and social services authorities and they are regional bodies who share their resources to provide the best services they can for all of the communities.
Again, that is the problem. The Minister gives the monies to the organizations and walks away from them. She says here’s the money, have at ‘er. The directive is clear that the Minister has the powers to ensure that the health facilities and social services facilities in the Northwest Territories must ensure that adequate standards are maintained for those facilities. To me that means the services have to be provided at those facilities. If you give the money to the health board to take care of six health care facilities, they have to make sure that the people are able to operate those facilities, maintain public health and social service providers to have a place to work out of. I’d like to ask the Minister again what her department is doing to ensure these facilities are functional and adequately being serviced by the health boards by ensuring that the dollars we give them are being spent on people to operate those facilities.
Again for the record, our objective of health care is not about maintaining and operating a facility. Our objective of health care is to make sure that every resident in the Northwest Territories has access to the health care they need and the health and social services care. Now, we understand that may require and does require patients to travel to services when it’s required. For example, doctors or specialists and sometimes special nursing services. Sometimes it requires the health care staff to travel to the communities. I think when we’re talking about the essential health care services that we need to provide, we’re talking about making sure that every one of our residents, no matter where they are, that they have access to care. It’s not about operating a facility. It’s about making sure they have care. In Tsiigehtchic they have had nursing services for 89 days last year and that comes to at least -- I don’t want to screw up my math -- four and a half months.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.
Mr. Speaker, I’m not too sure what it’s going to take to get through to this Minister that we’re asking for full-time positions for those communities that have the facilities are requesting the program to be delivered with full-time staff. When can we see a full-time position reinstated in Tsiigehtchic using the Minister’s powers, if she has any, to get that position filled so that we can have nurses in Wrigley, Tsiigehtchic and other communities of similar size so that they’re treated no differently than Yellowknife where you’re developing a super clinic and all these things that you’re pushing for? Why don’t you find us a nurse for our communities? That’s all we’re asking for. Get it done.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories adopted an ISDM model back in 2003, and that was what had prompted withdrawal of full-time nurses in Wrigley and Tsiigehtchic. So it goes back to 2003. This is the delivery model that we are using. The Member knows that if we are going to change that, we could do that as a discussion in the House as a business plan, but, again, the Member needs to understand that our health care services are being provided by making sure that everybody has access to care. It’s not necessarily about what all the services are, because we know that we need to get the service wherever we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Tu Nedhe, Ms. Bisaro.
