Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last August, the community of Aklavik lost one of our Inuvialuit elders to a stroke. This elder's access to proper and timely medical care was delayed. A critical incident review was started soon after, led by Cree doctor Marlyn Cook. That was almost seven months ago, Mr. Speaker.
Last week, the Minister of Health and Social Services updated this House on that critical incident review. It made 16 recommendations to the government. These recommendations ranged from making sure staff review and understand current rules to proposing a specialized stroke centre at the Stanton Hospital here in Yellowknife.
I want to talk about one of the recommendations in particular. Recommendation 12 suggests "that the GNWT implements a process to respond to patient and family concerns related to the care that they receive within the healthcare system."
I suspect that the Minister may say that we have a complaints system in place already, though maybe we could work on improving it. During my constituency meeting in Aklavik, a constituent brought a different idea to the table: a patient advocate. Small community residents often feel that they can't express how they really feel to healthcare workers.
A patient advocate, working out of a local health centre, could help bridge those gaps between those workers and residents. That could mean someone to tackle language or culture gaps, help coordinate medical escorts, help nurses with patients' family history, or even just help workers new to town get to know the community.
This could also tie in with the review's other recommendations, including the incorporation of traditional practices into care when Aboriginal patients ask for them. This idea for a patient advocate could be piloted in Aklavik, Mr. Speaker. I think we could learn a lot from it and effect some real positive changes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions later today.
Masi. Members' statements. Member for Hay River North.
