Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are many physicians who have left the territory and do return back and are locums. There are many physicians that are currently employed here in the territory that do not work full-time. And, you know, this is a conversation I just had today, actually, with my staff on looking at models, you know, within how to -- like, within our entire system, the workforce has changed. We have to be able to adapt. People want a work-life balance and that doesn't mean -- you know, in some sense that means, you know, they have family in the south and, you know, they...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With those questions coming at this time, I don't have that direct information on the floor, as doctor levels, staffing levels change all the time. And so what I've updated the Members in some of the written questions that recently were reported could have changed today, so I don't have that level of information here today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is very detailed information that I don't have here available. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Sometimes when third parties come in and they make recommendations, it's not necessarily easy to implement those recommendations. And also working within some of the recommendations that were suggested, there were many options and many of the options were to remain status quo. We know that status quo is not the option to do. So what we are taking into account are the recommendations that have been suggested but also working within our system to see where are there other areas that can change as well as structurally. And one of the parts that we are continuing to work on...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Dehcho journey was identified because within the concerns and the observations that once we analyzed all the regions, that was where the priority was needed. And due to the amount of residents in the capital and the continuing ongoing concerns with access to primary care, that is how we designated the second -- Yellowknife as the next journey. The remainder of -- like, the Beaufort Delta and the Sahtu, those areas have also already been having projects that have been going on to try to improve access to care. It doesn't necessarily mean they need...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I really appreciate the questions because I think that the --

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our health centre, our community health nurses, play a key role in our chronic disease management, which also incorporates services to the residents in small communities. And I know that they work closely with the community health representative to do some education on, you know, awareness on type 2. Most of the Indigenous communities throughout the Northwest Territories, you know, and the population, are type 2 diabetics so a lot of that is lifestyle changes. And I can follow up again with the department to see where we are with our education across the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe that NTHSSA has assessed the ratios based on what -- our model of care is a little different than BC, and so what has happened is that they are -- the department is actually taking -- examining this to understand where and what the numbers would be based on our staffing model versus BC. And the chief nursing officer and the director of patient care are actually travelling to BC to meet with and learn from what BC has learned from this change. And so once they return from that, I am hoping that I would have a better understanding. Thank you, Mr...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, routine dental treatment services for NIHB-eligible residents are federally funded, and so anybody traveling for those dental services from the small communities that are 100 percent recoverable through NIHB for that travel and the appointment. While we don't fund the NIHB dental contract, what we're -- access to the community-based care would naturally decrease in the number of cases requiring out-of-community or out-of-territory travel that ISC is currently assessing on a case by case. So everybody has to put in the application before traveling, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, when we look at all of our health areas, we at NTHSSA do provide a bursary to those that are accessing health programs and, you know, this -- I would have to follow up to ensure that this one may fall under that area. However, you know, we do know that dental hygienists -- you know, we're looking at the option of dental hygienists because they do have a much more expanded scope now than they did years ago, and so we're looking at how to be able to implement dental hygienists into our system as well. Going forward, you know, I will continue to have those...