Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up, as well, on nursing in small communities. The issue in Wrigley was they had the services there. They had policing and they had nursing. That was consequently withdrawn. So there are examples of nursing in small communities previously. We are asking again, let’s get these nurses back in the communities.
What progress has the department made towards hiring full-time nurses in Wrigley and other smaller communities? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The community of Wrigley falls under the Tlicho Health and Social Services Authority, so the department has obviously been working with them to try to find a… Sorry, Dehcho Health and Social Services. Everyone looked at me all of a sudden. That can’t be a good thing, right?
It falls under the responsibility of the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority. We have been working with them in the same way that we’ve been working with the Beaufort-Delta to try to find solutions for the small communities, Wrigley being one of them.
I can say that right now a community health nurse from Simpson visits the community three to four days a month, so there are people in there, nurses, on a regular basis. In addition, during freeze-up and breakup for four weeks twice a year we do locate the nurse in the community. So two out of 12 months there is somebody there and, on top of that, three to four days a month otherwise.
As I indicated previously, the department is reviewing the ISDM to ensure that the right health service and the right mix of staff is available in all communities. I will work with the Member, I will work with committee and I will work with the communities to find solutions. At the end of the day we want the same thing, which is better health, better care and a better future for all of our residents.
That’s exactly what the constituents want; they want better service.
The Minister brings up the Integrated Service Delivery Model. When the report came out in 2004, it was a step forward in moving towards enhancing services in our regions and communities. Has that model been re-examined since? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
There hasn’t been what I would call or consider a fully comprehensive review, but it has been tweaked over time and will continue to be so. We will continue to do that in order to meet the needs of our residents.
I hear the Member, I hear all the Members. We need to do more to improve our services in those communities. I am willing to work with committee, Members and communities to find solutions that work, recognizing that not all communities are the same and not all solutions are going to be the same. We are going to review the ISDM with respect to the matrix or mix of staff that’s available in communities and I will certainly have discussions with my colleagues. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
It’s important and I’ve been making the case that with the increase in development in the Sahtu, the services of Wrigley are being impacted. There are needs there and I would like the Minister to review the Wrigley situation and say, yes, there is a definite need for an increase in services and work on that aspect, much like what happened in 1973 when they got a hospital in Fort Simpson, and policing and nursing in Simpson, because of increased development. Thank you.
Yes, we will do a review; yes, we will work with our Members; yes, we will work with the community and try to find solutions that work for them, recognizing that we do have some limitations in place or limitations affecting our ability to get actual nurses permanently located in the communities.
We are focused on and we believe in better health, better care and better results for our residents. We will do a review of the ISDM. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Menicoche.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. An additional point is we are already paying for nursing salaries, so it’s a matter of getting them to the communities. Can you review that as well? Thank you.
As we look at the ISDM with respect to the mix of staff that’s available in small communities, we will look at all options and we will consider all opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Abernethy. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Mr. Dolynny.
