Mr. Speaker, further to the response provided to the Member for Range Lake on March 3, 2025, regarding primary wait times I have the following information to provide:
Primary health care reform is working towards increasing equitable access to team-based primary health care services in the Northwest Territories. The Yellowknife region is actively participating in a primary health care reform initiative and leading quality improvement activities to improve access to and experience with primary health care services at the Yellowknife Primary Care Clinic, that hassame-day access,and at Łıwegǫ̀atı.
In May 2024, the Yellowknife region underwent a structural change from 10 teams to four integrated primary care teams while simultaneously moving to the Łıwegǫ̀atı building where most primary care services are now co-located. Efforts over the past year have largely focused on optimizing operational capacity, including provider coverage and clinical workflow within existing resources. As part of the primary health care reform initiative, a multidisciplinary governance structure has been established and work is underway to define a regional aim, workplan, and metrics. Primary health care reform seeks system transformation. This type of change can take time; it happens at the speed of relationships. The work to increase access is just beginning and requires building capacity in cultural safety, prioritizing integrated care team function, and optimizing scopes of practice.
Yellowknife region has been tracking data related to standard indicators for service access and use including number of booked appointments, number of attended appointments, number of no-show appointments, and number of self-cancelled appointments. Other chronic and communicable disease indicators are also available to inform reform efforts, including screening for sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections during pregnancy, congenital syphilis, and screening of diabetic patients as per Diabetes Canada guidelines.
While the number of total appointments month over month have been lower than prior to the move to the Łıwegǫ̀atı building, we do know that it has been improving over time. It is important to note that the move was an operational event, not specifically driven by Primary Health Care Reform, and it coincided with other staffing factors, such as parental leaves, which resulted an increased demand on the remaining physicians. Data for the period June 2024, immediately following the move, to February 2025 has shown the total booked and attended appointments, both phone and in-person, has progressively increased, following an initial two-month decline. The total booked appointments grew from 1,989 to 4,011, which is a
102% increase, while attended appointments increased from 1,677 to 3,437.
The rate of “No-Show” appointments has reduced from 12.2% in June 2024 to 9.1% in February 2025, and the proportion of booked appointments that have been attended has ranged between 82.5% to 86.2%.
This type of data must be approached with caution as it is only one part of a story. There are many reasons for fluctuations in clinic data of this nature, including seasonal variability.
The data presented here will become part of a larger regional data strategy that reflects best practice in measuring both process and outcomes related to team-based primary and community care to get us closer to the reform vision: A territory where Indigenous peoples, 2SLGBTQIPA+, enjoy optimal physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and wellness. This data strategy will include a comprehensive and holistic approach to monitoring, evaluation and continuous quality improvement, including potential measures for patient experience, health system performance, health and wellness outcomes, staff well-being and team-based function, and health equity and cultural safety. It requires timely access to data and opportunities for data disaggregation to understand health equity outcomes.
