Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being that we’re wearing these purple boutonnieres today to raise awareness about elder abuse, I have questions today for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I also just want to thank him for supplying this to raise that awareness today in the House.
When we send some of our senior population out for medical services, whether they go to Edmonton or come to Yellowknife, does the department or the health authorities monitor our senior population when they travel outside of the Yellowknife or from the small communities to Yellowknife? How do they monitor their clients to make sure they are making their appointments or just being in a safe environment without any harm and making sure they get to their appointments on time in a safe manner and that they are taken care of from their point of departure to arrival back to the communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Health, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There has been a lot of conversation about medical travel in the House over the last couple of months. We do support some individuals having escorts with them who can help them with all those types of things that the Member is bringing up.
If a resident of the Northwest Territories travels to Edmonton, we also have some professionals located in Edmonton, nurses who could provide some guidance and support to individuals and help them understand how to navigate. Those individuals are available to our residents if they need them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On that note, we also have some northern residents who live in Edmonton who provide help and assistance for northern people who go down there. I just want to thank them and take a moment for that.
Should a client, specifically seniors who might be frail, who might need assistance and in some cases don’t have a medical escort, goes down to these boarding homes and should they have a slip or fall in the bathroom, does the Minister’s office get updated on any kind of serious issues or incidents that happen to clients in these boarding homes? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We do have a contract with the facilities in locations like Edmonton who are providing housing and support to our residents who are down in Edmonton for medical appointments and/or treatment. These individuals help get people to and from appointments and whatnot.
If there’s an incident within the facility, they are bound under the contract to update the department. I don’t have a direct link and conversation with those organizations, but I can be updated by the department as necessary. For the most part, the department will deal with it directly as an administrative or contractual issue.
The reason I asked the last question is I had a couple of constituents who did make a trip to one of our boarding homes that we offer services to and they both ended up falling and getting hurt in the same room. They ended up having to stay longer than they had to. In one case, the individual couldn’t even go to his initial appointments and had to get care and treatment for a more serious issue that occurred in the boarding home. Then subsequently, I had another individual, same facility and had the same issue brought forth where they ended up having to stay and medical travel had only paid so much for them to stay in a hotel when they didn’t have room at the boarding home. Then family members had to pay their own way down to help and assist. That’s why I’m asking the Minister if he does get updates. I feel that in certain cases like this, when an individual goes down to a certain appointment and winds up getting hurt in a boarding home, that there be immediate contact to the Minister’s office.
Can the Minister develop some protocol or policy to ensure that should something like that happen where there’s a serious incident, that his office gets contacted immediately? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I am aware of the situations as the MLA has brought them to my attention. I have directed the department to work with the boarding home to put in mechanisms, so that we, as a system, can be aware of these issues that our residents are having.
The safety of our residents is paramount. We want to make sure that they are safe and that they have access to the services and are not missing the services due to injuries that may have happened in the boarding home. I have already asked the department to work with the boarding home to put in mechanisms so that we can be informed and recommend changes to ensure the safety of our residents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know how long it takes to get policies changed in this government or even other governments. Maybe the best answer is to go to the clients themselves and develop some type of survey or follow-up questionnaire for anyone that goes on any type of medical appointment travel where they have to stay in a boarding home. Then we can get clear, concise information from the client that can tell us how their stay was and their visit was.
Would the Minister be willing and commit to developing some type of follow-up questionnaire for clients who go to these boarding homes outside the Northwest Territories and ones that we provide here in the Northwest Territories as well? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Having the data would obviously help us make better decisions with respect to the safety and well-being of our residents when they are in southern facilities. I don’t know the cost of a survey like this, but it’s certainly a good idea and I will talk to the department to check the feasibility of doing something like that, recognizing that we are a little tight on finances right now but I like the idea of having the information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Weledeh, Mr. Bromley.
