Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member's statement I made earlier today, my constituents, and most people in the NWT, know that our health system is in a crisis. Yet our leadership appears more interested in doing some damage control in the media than looking inwards to make policy changes to improve patient outcomes.
Mr. Speaker, my first question is health care in small communities require policies to take into account the unique circumstances for primary Indigenous population that have needs defined by race, geographically, and culture.
Will the Minister of Health and Social Services commit to a full policy review to improve patient outcomes and health care protocols in communities health centres and small and for small community medical travel within 120 days and report back to the House? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, since we last sat I had the opportunity to go to six different NWT communities, and certainly some of them are small communities and they have a lot to say about health care delivered to them. And while some people are satisfied with it, other people see room for improvement and I'm certainly interested in hearing those ideas for room for improvement.
What we want for the whole population is the best possible health outcomes, whether they live in a small community or they live in Yellowknife. And that's something that we are very focused on as a department. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is she willing to make a commitment to a full policy review and report back to the House in 120 days? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you. And I'm pleased to note that the CEO of the Yellowknife Health and Social Services region, within which Fort Resolution is located, has been to the community a couple of times this month and has opened channels of communication with the leadership there to work on the specific issues that people have raised.
I also want to say that while people may be afraid or unsure about advocating for themselves in the moment, there is also a complaint process where people, instead of sitting with their issues, can point out what their problems are and ask us for resolution.
Because it's health information, we require a confidentiality form. So if the Member has people with specific health issues that they would like the department to investigate, I recommend that he get a consent form from them and send to my attention for resolution. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Medical travel has been found to be lacking in supporting the needs of Indigenous people in the Northwest Territories. The Minister and her department has spoken about the need for noninsured health benefits for the First Nations and Inuit, a reform to improve outcomes. I agree with the Minister but that this is an area of federal jurisdiction.
Will the Minister commit to additional resources to the medical travel assistance to cover off any shortfalls in NIHB benefits until permanent changes are made by Ottawa? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member is aware, this is a federal program and the NIHB benefits are federally funded. The Government of the Northwest Territories funds medical travel to the same extent for people who are not eligible for noninsured health benefits and not eligible for Metis health benefits.
So we spend about $45 million a year on medical travel. The older you are, the more likely you are to get access to medical travel. There is a very specific set of criteria. It's set by the federal government and we administer it.
It is time to look at it again, and the federal Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs has invited me, invited Indigenous leaders from the NWT, invited the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, which is the federal department responsible for this, to provide them with information to do their own review of administration and accessibility of NIHB, and I'm looking forward to their report. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Licensed practitional nurse or LPNS requires far less training and resourcing to effectively deploy in small communities than registered nursed or nurses practitioners. These positions can effectively enhance home care services and restoring services expectation in Fort Resolution and other communities.
Will the Minister expand licensed practitional nurse positions at community health centres to ensure home care services are available in our communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member may be aware, we're currently facing a shortage of nurses in the Fort Resolution health centre. They've been operating quite often with two nurses rather than three. So the idea of adding more nursing positions is a risk that because we may not be able to fill them. The nursing staff who are there provide home care and wellbaby checks and of course emergency and chronic disease management.
So the nursing level is not up to where we would want it. As I said, it's two rather than three. But I feel confident that they are covering the basic needs of the community. And if there are needs that are not being addressed, I invite the MLA to bring them to my attention. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Hay River South.
