Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The residents of Hay River have grave concerns about our healthcare system and many feel that things are getting worse. It is still nearly impossible to make an appointment. At the clinic, physician shortages are now commonplace. The authority can't seem to retain staff, patients are wary of the quality of care that they receive, and the public has generally lost faith in the system.
I don't want to disparage the authority, but it seems to me that these concerns appear to be the result of deep-seated issues that cannot be fixed using a piecemeal approach, and there need to be some substantial, and possibly structural, changes made.
I have some questions for the Minister of Health: is the department aware of systemic issues at the Hay River Health and Social Services authority that contribute to the ongoing difficulties, such as the difficulty retaining staff? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are aware of the concerns and the challenges facing the Hay River Health and Social Services authority. I agree with the Member that some systemic change is required in that authority. To that end, I know that the chief operating officer and the public administrator are looking at bringing about some change in that organization.
I have asked the deputy minister of Health and Social Services and the chair of the territorial Health and Social Services authority to go down and meet with them to talk about opportunities that we have to make some improvements in that authority, to improve the overall management, care, and delivery of health and social services in that community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
True to form, the Minister answered a couple of my other questions, so I will skip to my last one. Unfortunately, the next Assembly will have a new Minister of Health. What advice can this Minister provide to his successor to help address these ongoing issues at the Health and Social Services authority in Hay River?
We face challenges across the entire Northwest Territories. Recruitment and retention is a big challenge. When it comes to Hay River, I have had the opportunity to talk to a lot of different practitioners and nurses, both in Hay River and out of Hay River, and one of the things that I have heard from some individuals outside the community is that they would love to go to Hay River. They think it's a great community. It's in a beautiful spot, it's a 10-hour drive from Edmonton, it's a brand-new health centre, but they don't want to go there because they don't want to leave the public service.
Frankly, I think that one of the initiatives that the next government does have to undertake is to bring Hay River into the public service to improve that security, ensure that they are getting the best pension, and expand their ability to reach out to additional services in the Northwest Territories, to make sure that we have those economies of scale that Hay River doesn't always get to take advantage of. I really think that the next government is going to have to find a way to bring them in.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Deh Cho.
