Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In March and April of this year, the residents of the Beaufort Delta region were advised that they may have been exposed to an infection. The following communities and some of its residents may have been exposed:
Aklavik,
Fort McPherson,
Paulatuk,
Sachs Harbour, and
Ulukhaktok.
Residents from the noted communities were advised that if they were patients at one of these health centres that they were to get tested for HEP C, HEP B, or HIV. Dr. Kondola, the NWT chief public health officer, stated that the possibility of contracting the infection is very low; getting tested is the best thing to do.
Mr. Speaker, the possible infection may have come from dental instruments that were not properly cleaned, disinfected, or sterilized. In this day and age, how is something as serious as this supposed to happen? We have all the new technologies at our disposable, and our small communities are still being neglected. Our small remote communities need the same care as the regional centres and the capital.
Mr. Speaker, I know the Department of Health and Social Services is trying to accommodate the residents of these communities with their dental needs. It seems the patients from the Beaufort Delta region are losing out on appointments and being comfortably accommodated. The residents who travel to Yellowknife do not arrive until late in the afternoon, at times miss their appointments and are placed in hotels that is not meeting their expectations.
Mr. Speaker, it is time that this government start to look out for the basic needs of our residents, the Northwest Territories, especially smaller remote communities. The health and well-being of these patients is very important to these smaller communities. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Mackenzie Delta. Members' statements. Member from Monfwi.
