Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I talked about detox beds and the importance of them in all communities, not only Hay River. You know, just before we came into the building here, I had a call from somebody who was, you know, asking me if I could take them to the health centre in Hay River because they wanted to detox. But whenever I you know, I've done it in the past, and whenever I do it, it's usually, you know, we don't have a bed, or they don't have they don't seem to have the qualified staff there. So we need a mechanism, I guess, whether it's through legislation or something to also be able to kind of hold a person, you know, for a number of days as we do with mental health to help them along to detox. But, Mr. Speaker, the question I have is for the Minister of health, and I'd like her to tell me how many dedicated detox beds are available in Hay River. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to start by saying that not everybody with addictions needs hospitalbased detox. For example, somebody who has an opioid use addiction can be treated as an outpatient with an opioid antagonist therapy, which is a medicationbased therapy. So there isn't a need in that case for someone to be in hospital. The really key time that people need hospital detox is in the withdrawal from alcohol which can produce life threatening symptoms. So the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority does not have dedicated detox beds, but they certainly can be made available when a health practitioner assesses the patient and decides that inpatient detox is the preferred option to take. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that answer. However, you know, when somebody comes to me, and they ask me to take them somewhere, they want you know, they want to detox, you know, I've got to respond, and I've got to try and help them because it could be between you know, a matter between life and death. So, you know, to say that, well, not all people, you know, require a bed in the hospital to detox is maybe correct, and I agree there's other forms. But I think it's important that, you know, we have those places available. And I find that in the community we need them. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me the number of staff available at the Hay River health centre who are actually qualified to deal with persons seeking detox support? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the MLA for the engagement he has with this issue in his community. I'm very pleased that he gets calls directly and can provide the information that he has and I'm providing. So there are all frontline registered nurses are qualified to administer and support medical detox under the direction of a physician, and that applies to opioids and alcohol. So the starting point is to go to the health centre and to be assessed for the substance that the person wants to detox from, and the process then rolls from there. There are always registered nurses at the health centre who can provide this assistance. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, I appreciate that answer. You know, I understand that there are staff there. I understand they all have qualifications. But at the end of the day when somebody goes in there, they don't only need medical treatment; they also need, you know, support from counsellors as well. And because what I find is that it's difficult sometimes for a person to actually stay there. They're looking for ways to leave the facility. And I know we can't stop them, but I think if we have people there to provide that support, they may stay. So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell me if the department has dedicated detox beds on its radar for Hay River, and if not, will she make a commitment to reviewing it and making it a priority. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a gap in our continuum of service which relates to people who are ready for detox and facilitybased treatment to have a place, a safe place to live while they retain regain their sobriety and move forward with counselling and the application form to get into facilitybased treatment. So what I would say about this is that the hospital is one possibility, but there needs to be a communitybased possibility as well where people have a safe place to stay where they can access counselling, where they can use whatever therapy has been prescribed to them. And this is something that I think maybe exits is in Yellowknife but not anywhere else in the territory. So it's certainly an area that needs strengthening which we need to look at. Thank you
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Hay River South.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, I guess when we're talking about people who are, you know, crying out for help, we have sort of the middle component. We have a lot of programming. You know, I don't dispute that. And, you know, and I try and encourage people to you know, to take some of that programming or talk to counsellors. And we also have access to treatment centres, albeit that they're put from down south; they're not here in the territories, but we do have that. What we don't have is the front end which is the detox centres or beds. We need something for these people. You know, they need to be somewhere where they're safe, because a lot of times we're dealing with people who might be homeless; they don't have a place to live; you know, they've got families kicking them out, whatever. So they need a safe place. And it takes this government to actually do something. It takes our financial resources. So, Mr. Speaker, after six confirmed drugrelated deaths in the community of Hay River, to support residents requiring detox, we need the funding, $240,000, actually, for two positions which would be medical social workers. Can the Minister tell me when this might happen or if it's on her radar because my assumption was that it was something that was already going to happen. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority is now actively recruiting two medical social workers who will support community outreach efforts and coordinate clinical care. So I don't know where that process is at, but the money has been identified; the ad has been posted, and we it usually takes somewhere up to 12 weeks to fill a position. So I hope that before we leave here at the end of March, you will I will be able to announce to you that the medical social workers are in place. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Great Slave.
