Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned in my statement today, I’ve been told by my constituents that the Minister of Health and Social Services informed the chief of Tsiigehtchic and others that a nurse would not be hired for Tsiigehtchic. The Minister did not even have the common courtesy to inform me of this.
I’d like to ask the Minister, why is the Minister of Health retracting the commitment made by the former Minister of Health and Social Services on February 7, 2013? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Blake. Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Health and Social Services, my priority is going to be on the client, to providing the best services that we possibly can to the client. This includes residents of all communities throughout the Northwest Territories, including Tsiigehtchic.
In follow-up to the Member’s question, the department has agreed that we would start looking at alternatives and solutions for the small communities like Tsiigehtchic, Colville Lake and Wrigley and we will continue to do that, but we are limited by a number of things.
The current ISDM indicates service levels for communities and that there won’t be nurses in communities of less than 250 people. I can say that we do have regular visits to communities like Tsiigehtchic. On a regular basis, a nurse from the public health unit in Inuvik visits at least one day a week, and during freeze-up and breakup a nurse will actually reside in the community. We also have one CHR and one home support worker in the community.
I understand that more needs to be done. I am committed to working with the Member as well as residents of the community to find solutions that work.
I have directed the department to begin reviewing the ISDM to ensure that the right health services and the right mix are identified for our communities. Work needs to be done on that and I’m happy to work with the Member, with the residents of the community and with committee. Thank you.
The Minister actually brought up a good point and that point is that the community has a full-time nurse there five and a half months out of the year. So why is it so difficult for the Minister to ensure that we have a nurse in Tsiigehtchic for 12 months out of the year? Thank you.
I know the Member doesn’t want to hear the same old same old, but the truth is we can’t put a nurse in the community on a permanent basis unless there’s an RCMP in the community, but I am interested in finding solutions and I’m sure there are solutions. If we work with the community, I’m sure we could find a balance that will give them the support and the coverage they need.
I have had an opportunity to talk to the public health nurse who goes in there on a regular basis and she talks about her interactions in the community and the good work that’s happening there, and I am interested in meeting and having further conversations with the community. In the meantime, we are going to look at our ISDM to make sure that we are finding the right balance for our small rural and remote communities throughout the Northwest Territories. Of course Tsiigehtchic is on that list. Thank you.
Just so the Minister is up to date with what happens in the community through breakup and freeze-up there’s also no RCMP in the community. So I don’t think that that’s a valid excuse.
As I mentioned in my statement, the community has done the work to set aside housing for a nurse in our community. Will the Minister work with the community leaders to find a way to put a nurse in that house? Thank you.
The other challenge obviously is the fact that under our ISDM we don’t have one-nurse stations, so we would have a challenge there as well. I will not commit to putting a nurse in that house at this time, but I will commit to working with the community, with the committee, as well as the health authority to find solutions that work for all communities, including Tsiigehtchic. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Your final, short supplementary, Mr. Blake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. From what I understand, the policy doesn’t actually affect the licenced practical nurse as it does a full-time nurse. So will the Minister ensure that we make adjustments to the policy to make sure that communities like Tsiigehtchic have a proper nurse? Thank you.
It’s a very complex issue and I know the Member knows this. I mean, there are health and safety issues for our staff, we have to make sure that we’re meeting certain standards, but there are also the health and safety issues of the community and we have to find that balance. As I’ve indicated, I’ve directed the department to look at their ISDM to ensure that the right balance exists within all of our communities throughout the Northwest Territories, including the small and rural and remote as well as the isolated communities.
We have to think outside the box, we have to look at other options, emergency response, we have to look at maybe expanding community health workers or community health representatives. We have to find a way that the residents have that seamless care that we’ve been talking about from their community into other centres. We are committed to improving the system. We want better health, better care and better results for all our residents of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
