Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mahsi. My questions are to the Minister of health.
What immediate steps will the department take to improve consistent access to diabetic foot care services across all regions of the Northwest Territories, particularly in small and remote communities where gaps in services continue to put residents at risk of preventable complications? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from the Dehcho. Minister of Health and Social Services.
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 territory on diabetes, especially in our small communities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given the serious and preventable nature of diabetes-related foot disease, what specific actions is the department taking to reduce the incidence of infections, ulcers, and amputations among diabetic patients, and how will these actions be monitored for effectiveness? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, as I mentioned, in our small communities we oversee -- you know, there's acute care. So that would be your community -- like, seeing the community health nurse. If they're seeing home support, home support, they can, you know, ensure that the home support workers know that, you know, if they're part of the home care team, they would know if they're diabetic and have these issues. However, diabetic foot care is an advanced practice and so there is training for this. What I can do is I can take this back to NTHSSA and say how much training and is there gaps in all of our small communities, and is there a way that we can provide a training, you know, opportunity for those residents in those small communities to identify some key people in those communities to do diabetic foot care. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Final supplementary. Member from the Dehcho.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister kind of answered some of the questions -- my third question, but I am going to ask it anyways. How does the department plan to incorporate diabetic foot care into its broader chronic disease management strategies, and what investments or policy changes are being considered to reduce long-term health care costs associated with unmanaged diabetes complications? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I really appreciate the questions because I think that the --
(audio).
Oh, sorry. With this -- I am just passionate; I used to be an advanced foot care nurse, so. And I believe that, you know, it does take an analysis, and so what I will commit to is bringing this back to NTHSSA. Within NTHSSA, we do have a territorial director of home and community care, and branch out. Because we do have a professional development PDI for our healthcare providers, and maybe we need to find and bring some opportunities, especially for our small communities. So I will commit to bringing that back to NTHSSA to be able to work towards making sure there's training available for our frontline staff in small communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister of Health and Social Services. Oral questions. Member from Mackenzie Delta.
