Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of organizations and individuals in my constituency have contacted me about the potential closure of the extended care unit at Stanton Regional Hospital. This is a unit that provides extended care to patients from around the NWT, who need long-term, supervised convalescence, or who are, unfortunately, terminally ill and need medical and quality care to provide comfort during their last days.
The extended care unit was established at Stanton Hospital because many of the care requirements are medical in nature. The extended care unit is a 14-bed unit and has been used for long-term care, palliative care, convalescent care, respite care and rehabilitation for the past eight years, maintaining a 97.8 per cent occupancy rate. The unit provides care through an interdisciplinary approach with a wide range of services such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy and respiratory therapy that are available only at Stanton Regional Hospital.
A very dear and long-time friend of mine, Ross Harvey -- who many of you may know -- spent his last days in this unit. With great physical effort, he wrote to the chairman of the hospital board urging him to maintain the unit at Stanton Hospital. He expressed his gratitude to the staff for the truly concerned effort they made to ease the pain and provide some quality to his final months of life.
Many of the patients of the extended care facility require immediate and round-the-clock access to medical services and staff.
While the current fiscal situation may be a factor in considering the possibility of relocating the unit to various other locations in Yellowknife, I would urge the Minister of Health to recommend relocating other areas of the hospital administration such as Finance or Personnel, which do not require close proximity to medical equipment or medical staff.
In view of the lack of alternatives in support programs in care, I am deeply concerned about the impact of the potential closure of the extended care unit of Stanton of the current and future residents of this unit. Thank you.