Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
WHEREAS the transportation of patients via emergency ground/air ambulance and highway rescue to health facilities does not fall under the Government of the Northwest Territories medical travel and there is no current policy basis or provision possible for non-medical escort or supports provided to these patients;
AND WHEREAS promoting, protecting, and providing for the health and well-being of the people of the Northwest Territories is the mandate of the health and social services establishment policy;
AND WHEREAS access to health care and addressing the effects of trauma is a priority of the 20th Assembly;
AND WHEREAS patients receiving emergency care can benefit from having the support of family and friends while they receive emergency transportation and medical care.
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that this Legislative Assembly calls upon the Government of the Northwest Territories to develop and implement a compassionate medical evacuation policy for emergency ground/air ambulance and highway rescue allowing for patients in critical conditions to be accompanied by non-medical escorts;
AND FURTHER, that the Government of the Northwest Territories provide a response to this motion within 120 days.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member from Range Lake.
Mr. Speaker, we know Northerners face challenges accessing public health care services here in the Northwest Territories. Our constituents are spread out far and wide across this vast land. Then when we cannot expect to offer specialized care in every community, our constituents still expect to enjoy their right to care that they are entitled to as Canadians. This is where health and social services medical travel policy factors in to break down the barriers of geography and capacity for Northerners to get them to the facilities and treatment options down south which are vital in providing the services that are not offered here.
Regardless of policy imperfections, our constituents are thankful to rely on the connections medical travel staff offer to get them to the medical professionals who are eager to offer their skills to our people. While we can debate here in this chamber adjustments to policy, our appreciation for the support medical travel provides residents of every community remains. On any given week, medical travel could be flying dozens of patients in and out of the territory. Without this work, those patients and their non-medical escorts would be paying thousands of dollars for flights and accommodations contrary to the mandate of the Public Health Act which states clearly that health care must be accessible, and free of financial barrier.
Alongside the support medical travel provides to get patients to their doctors, the next most vital policy priority is granting of support for non-medical escorts for travel. These non-medical escorts, whether they be friends or family members of the patient, are critical to the delivery of medical services which must be accessed outside of a patient's home community. They're necessary in assisting patients to navigate unfamiliar airports, cities, and hospitals. Often, they are needed to understand paperwork, documental, and plans of care. They provide valuable emotional support for patients dealing with tough diagnosis and painful conditions. For Indigenous patients in particular, especially those who are elders, they're necessary to provide cultural assistance and translation. For those with disabilities, a non-medical escort can help them be safe and secure. However, northern patients have -- with very special medical circumstances cannot obtain these vital, non-medical escorts, and not because medical travel -- not because medical travel deemed their non-medical escort unnecessary but because medical travel has no policy regarding these circumstances at all.
I am speaking, of course, about emergency medevacs. Because these flights are not scheduled around pre-approved appointments, no matter how necessary that non-medical escort may be for you, it's just not happening. This is a huge gap in our medical services and something that MLAs have brought to the floor of this chamber many, many times, and not just in this Assembly. When the condition of a patient is so dire that they must be placed on a medevac flight out of their community, it is more than likely due to serious distress or trauma. While the immediate rush to the appropriate medical centre for lifesaving treatment comes at a huge relief to that patient's family or loved ones, if that patient parent remains in serious condition, or even incapacitation, it would be wholly inappropriate or even irresponsible to leave them in a hospital hundreds of kilometers away without the support of their families.
These family members naturally turn to health and social services for the support needed because they are familiar with medical travel for scheduled appointments, but then they are promptly denied. Even when the doctors and nurses assisting the patient clearly state that a non-medical escort is highly necessary and communicate that fact to the relevant authorities does not make a difference. There was no exception to be made because there was no policy to begin with, and the families end up taking upwards of $10,000 out of their savings in some cases in order to be by their loved ones' sides.
I want to share with you one of the stories of my Range Lake -- that my Range Lake constituents have brought forward to me over the past year and how they were forced to pay out of pocket travelling to Alberta to support their family members after they were medevaced and remain in an incapacitated state. In one such case, a blood clot in a constituent's brain caused a serious stroke, and he was incapacitated for weeks. In another, a constituent suffered a severe heart attack, developed pneumonia, and then a blood infection, and he too needed his family by his side to help understand his treatment and plan of care. In both cases, doctors implored health and social services to grant a non-medical escort, and they were denied. After these constituents were forced to pay out of pocket, they came to my office for help, and I promised I would do all I could to reach a solution.
Time after time my efforts to find us that solution went nowhere because there was no policy to make an exception towards. If the Minister is not able to find a way to work together to find a solution, then I have taken the next steps necessary to introduce a motion into this Assembly to implore the government to create the policy tools that will remedy this situation and ensure nobody falls through the cracks during a medical emergency ever again. This motion can start the process to close this severe policy gap which is leaving all of our constituents behind. But, also, I want to make clear that this motion is not just another step in my efforts, but it is also responding directly to the needs of my constituents as well. They persevered through these family crises, endured confusion and miscommunication from their government at a time when they should have been focusing on the health of their loved ones, and they ended up, in fact, paying out of pocket after the system failed them and when they came to my office to tell me enough was enough and they were not going to stop seeking justice until off avenues were exhausted.
I want to commend them for their strength and determination, and I do not want their efforts to be in vain, Mr. Speaker. They have told me time and time again they're not just doing this for themselves but for everyone else in the Northwest Territories so that others do not have to go through what they had to. I'm sure many of my colleagues have had constituents with similar stories. It pains me to think that there are those who are not as fortunate as some of my constituents in being able to scrape together the funds necessary to unite with their loved ones. Imagine if they could not be there, if their family member passed away while they were stuck here in Yellowknife because there was no proper non-medical escort policy for medical evacuations.
I ask that my colleagues support this motion so that we can tell our constituents that during a medical emergency that requires medevac services, we are on their side. This is an opportunity to show Northerners that when we hear their problems, we do not give up on our efforts to fix them; we do whatever is within our power to do so. This policy gap has probably affected dozens, if not hundreds, of Northerners over the years but we can put a stop to it now. So please join me in making sure nobody has to pay out of pocket again in order to support their incapacitated family members in hospitals here in Yellowknife or in southern Canada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. To the motion. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to second this motion. You know, based on the -- all the information and the reasons that my colleague, the Member from Range Lake, so eloquently put, and I won't reiterate all those, just to say, Mr. Speaker, that this is about compassion. It's about doing the right thing. And it's why we're here, Mr. Speaker. So I trust this motion and this important policy work will begin as soon as possible. Thank you.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Boot Lake. To the motion. Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the motion on the floor that asks for non-medical escorts to accompany patients on ground and air ambulance and highway rescue vehicles and also a policy for this, one of the areas is for significant safety reasons, emergency medical transport do not support non-medical escorts to accompany patients. In emergency medical transport, the priority is to provide care to the patient. This is not intended to be insensitive to the family or loved ones; however, it's important for safety reasons. Emergency medical transports are unable to accommodate non-medical escorts. These vehicles and aircraft are designed to prioritize lifesaving care, and medical teams must have the space to respond quickly and effectively to any changes in a patient's condition during transport.
During a briefing with Standing Committee on Social Development in July 2024, we discussed the work that was being undertaken at that time to determine options to consider for the escort compassion reasons. This work is underway as part of the improvements being considered for medical travel. I plan to offer an update to the committee on this work early in the new fiscal year.
The area of analysis is planned in phase 2 of the work plan. Once completed, the results will be shared as is committed through the plan to modernization medical travel. A policy change to increase the number of non-medical escorts will significantly impact our system's boarding home and capacity. It would also mean increased costs. The work is underway. We'll review options and impact, including financial impacts, and make recommendations for considerations as part of the business planning. We must continue to ensure that the public funds that we have is done and that it is focused on the delivery of essential health services with a limited budget.
Mr. Speaker, as this motion makes recommendation to the government, Cabinet will abstain from this vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes. To the motion. Member from Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be supporting the motion, and I appreciate the Member for bringing this forward. I, too, have had many constituents come to me in a situation of having a family member in a critical state, you know, in another province or in another place and not having a way to get to them. And I've also had, you know, medical practitioners coming to me and imploring me that something needs to be done because in their view too, especially if someone gets to a point where an end of life decision needs to be made, you know, their family members, their loved ones, need to be there with them and helping to make that decision. And I think medical practitioners themselves know that as well as any of the rest of us.
I do understand the Minister's point that it's impractical and often unsafe for an escort to be physically in the ambulance or in a -- like, a medevac helicopter or something with the patient. I can understand that that may not work. But I wonder if a policy, the policy that's being asked for, could accommodate other ways to be able to send, you know, a family member an escort through other means of transportation to then arrive and then be able to be with that patient. So I'm hopeful that other ways can be found to make this happen in a practical and safe way that acknowledges the need.
I mean, I'll also point out the -- I don't know if it's an irony but sort of counterintuitive nature that if someone is well enough to be able to go on medical travel through, say, a regular commercial flight, then they might be eligible for a medical escort but as soon as their condition gets worse to the point where they actually need a medevac, then suddenly they're not eligible to have the escort when they may need that person there, you know, if they're flying to Edmonton, more than ever. And so in that way, the way we currently have it structured just doesn't make sense. And so I would urge the Minister to look at this. I know it's going to cost money, as things do, but I do believe that this is an important area to look at to the folks that are community members who are, you know, in their -- the most difficult and challenging situations that one can face for one's self and one's family members. So I appreciate, once again, the Member for raising this, and I look forward the work that can happen to improve the situation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. To the motion. Member from the Sahtu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too will be supporting this motion here. I've encountered, since our election putting us in this building, on numerous occasions welcoming patients that were medevaced to the Stanton Hospital, and I try to ease the pain by being there and then also during discussions of the travel. And as my previous colleagues have mentioned here, I think we can design an accommodation. Circumstances are different. There's some circumstances where I had nothing but cooperation from the Minister of Health and Social Services. There were a few situations, it was -- it varied in different circumstances there in different situations. We had young, middle aged, and elders on medevac flights, and it would be, I would say, a serious outcome on an elder not having the ability to speak the English language to relate what might be painful during the flight with the paramedics. But those are few and far between. We're very lucky. But if we had a relied and designed policy that would help our system, I think that would be an efficient way to review and modernize our system the best we can, giving us abilities to serve and accommodate the people that put us in this building. Mahsi.
Thank you, Member from the Sahtu. To the motion. Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise too as well to support this motion. And it hits home when this motion speaks about the impacts to our small communities, especially in the case of an emergency of loved ones.
I just want to reflect back on the 19th Assembly where I had a constituent in my riding of Dettah where he had to wait six years to get on a transplant list and, finally, the call came in to help out my constituent. And they put him on a plane, on a medevac plane from here to Edmonton for the transplant. And, however, the spouse, the wife, they had no room on that medevac plane for her. And so I got the call, and I wasn't sure what to do, and I brought forward this issue to the Minister of the day, and they couldn't help. So as the MLA, I stepped up and paid for the one-way ticket to send the wife to Edmonton to be by the loved one because through the kidney transplant, we never know what's going to happen. Something could go sideways where -- and somebody had to be there to make a decision, especially the wife. And so to this day, I still get thank-yous from the family for stepping up. And, you know, imagine that, if this is just one of many. And believe me, I've been through this already in my riding of Lutselk'e, Dettah, N'dilo, and members from Yellowknife. And not only here, up and down the Valley as well, that we find ourselves in the same situation. So, Mr. Speaker, I do support this motion. And I just -- you know, we want to work together to create a policy that works for everybody. If there's a way to find the money and work with Government of Canada, let's do it.
Again, I just want to emphasize that health is also a treaty right, and we can't be turning away loved ones that are in need. And believe me, I've been to so many funerals over my lifetime, and more so in the last -- in the 19th and 20th Assembly already; I had my share already and I'm tired of going to funerals. So I support this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. Member from Range Lake, do you wish to close debate?
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the colleagues who spoke joining debate around this motion and, in particular, those who are supporting it. Compassion is the name of the game here, and it's to find a way to develop a compassionate policy that can address these circumstances. And I know these things are complicated. I know medical travel's incredibly expensive and often quite complicated, and I have sympathy for the honourable Minister and her commentary on this motion. However, I think we should get into the business of finding ways to -- reasons how we can overcome challenges instead of just a list of challenges as to why we can't do things. Far too often do we present all the reasons why we can't instead of finding the way -- instead of finding the ways so we can. And in this case, I think the Member for Yellowknife North spoke quite eloquently about this. If it doesn't make sense to put someone in a situation that's unsafe and fly them down with their loved one, then find another way to do that. We're not being prescriptive about how we develop this compassionate policy, only that it be developed, and it be done in a way that we could help people at a time when they're extremely vulnerable, extremely stressed. And not everyone can afford these flights.
I had a constituent who was asked to join a Zoom call while their loved one was comatose and make decisions about their care. Can you imagine that, Mr. Speaker, being put into that situation where you can see through your TV screen your unconscious husband, and you have to make decisions about their care? This is the situation we're trying to address. This is not saying send everyone down regardless. It's in these very particular situations, these very serious, life and death emergencies. Those are the people we want an exemption for. We don't want the policies to change globally; we want an exemption, a compassionate policy developed just so the House is clear on what this motion is calling for. It is not going to open Pandora's Box to, you know, whole new range of costs for medical travel that will already make an unsustainable system even more unsustainable. So I just want to be clear on that. The compassionate grounds is what we're asking for, what this motion is calling for, and it's long overdue. Because no one should have to pay out of pocket to care for their loved ones.
So thank you, again, to Members for their support and for their comments in the debate. And I will ask for a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
