Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Hay River right now, we're in the process of moving the medical clinic to the new health centre, and it's my understanding that, I imagine, in the next year or two the rest of the hospital will move as well. The Minister of Health and Social Services tabled the Long-Term Care Program Review in this House on Monday and it discusses our lack of long-term care beds. Currently we're slated to get 10 new beds built onto the Woodland Manor, and all that does is take the current long-term beds in the current hospital and move them to the Manor. My question to the Minister is: Since we have this shortage of beds and since the all-in capital investment of new long-term care beds is between $800,000 and $1.2 million, and since the cost of operating a current bed is $136,000 a year, why aren’t we continuing to use the current long-term care beds in addition to the 10 beds that we'll be getting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm glad the Member has read the report. This is a huge issue affecting us here in the Northwest Territories, and we certainly have to think outside the box to ensure that we are providing the 258 long-term care beds that are necessary by 2016. In the short term, we are staying in the old hospital until we have actually addressed the Woodland Manor expansion, but at the same time, and I’ve had discussions with other individuals who have indicated maybe we should look at a larger project in Hay River to accommodate the 50 beds that will be needed by 2026, we have to look at all options before we can consider a permanent residence in the existing HH Williams. We'd certainly have to have Public Works and Services do a technical review of that building to see if it's even appropriate.
One of the reasons we got out of that building was it wasn't meeting our acute care needs with respect to things like infection control, and we would definitely want to make sure, if that was something being considered, that that building would be suitable, so that assessment would have to be done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I could probably live with that 50-bed expansion that the Minister mentioned.
---Laughter
I understand the old hospital is not meeting, maybe, today's standards. I know there's an older part of it and there's a newer part of it, and the older part is the issue. That’s the reason, I believe, that we needed to move out. The new part appears to be structurally sound. I know there needs to be some renovation done to it. Will the government look at renovating that building so the newer part of the building can extend its life?
This is a conversation that will obviously have to occur between a number of different departments. I have been in that building and I know if you walk from one end of the building to the other end of the building, at one point you are technically walking downhill, so it does need some significant work. Before we can even have a discussion about whether or not it's a suitable building for this particular discussion, we would need Public Works and Services to do the assessment on the building to find out what kind of mechanical upgrades it might require, and whether or not it is the best use and best value for money, but certainly, as I said, we have to look for all options when we're trying to address this 258-bed problem and we certainly will consider options such as HH Williams, if it were to get a suitable review from Public Works and Services.
I would like to ask: Will the Minister commit to doing that review with Public Works and Services so we can use this facility?
As we leave to building to move into the new hospital, as well as the expansion of Woodland, the building would get an assessment from Public Works and Services to determine whether there was actually any practical use for this building. We will certainly have those discussions, and I commit to having those discussions with the Minister to see if this is appropriate, but we also want to make sure we get the best bang for our buck and best value for every dollar that we have to spend, given that is going to be a significant expense. Long-term care facilities are a person's home, and we don't really feel that an institutional setting is necessarily the most appropriate, so it may require significant renovations, if the building is even remotely suitable. But certainly, we will have those discussions and I commit to having those discussions as well as additional discussions with the Members from Hay River, who might have other alternatives for consideration.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Hay River North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My grandma has lived in that building for 12 years, and so while it is an institutional setting, it is still a home and she looks at it as a home, so I know people do. It is their home. I would ask that the Minister commit to sharing that assessment with myself and the other Member for Hay River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
As we are working for solutions to address the 50 beds that are going to be required in Hay River by 2026, I'm certainly going to be working with both Members from Hay River. I think this is a huge undertaking in Hay River, as it is in the Beaufort-Delta, as it is in Yellowknife, as it is in the South Slave, Sahtu, Fort Smith, and Simpson. This is a huge issue that we are going to have to work with all of the Members on, and I am committed to working with the Members to address this significant challenge.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
