Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just recently, I had the opportunity to review the medical travel policy and the criteria for non-medical travel escorts. I was surprised to find that there is a provision for a second non-medical escort. It is only provided in rare situations. I have requested compassionate travel and different types of approvals before and have never been successful. What are the circumstances that the Minister will approve a second escort under?

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, those are looked at on a case-by-case basis. It is an approval that is granted by the deputy. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, regarding my Member's statement on travel and transportation from communities to regional centres and who makes those decisions, I would like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services, can he tell me the policy on how people from communities I represent are transported to the hospital, say in Inuvik?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, clearly the intent is to ensure the patient being referred is transported to the nearest medical centre in the most efficient way possible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to know who makes the decision about what type of transportation is used. Is it going to be road transportation, air transportation? Who makes that decision?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it would be, as far as I am aware, the call of the people on the ground where the patient is and where the requirement is. The determination would be made between the community and the facility they are being transported to. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think one of the fundamental problems we see in our small communities is the lack of consistency in services, like doctors and specialists, coming into our communities. Right now, it is pretty apparent that this medical travel is a necessity to basically get to a doctor or a specialist.

Could the Minister tell me, is there anything in the works to ensure that we will have a means of transporting people without having to follow this policy? If it is apparent that it is a policy that is the only means of getting that service, will that be allowed without having to go through this policy?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, very clearly, we have recognized that there are issues with this particular policy. In fact, with the whole supplementary health benefits program. That is why we are taking the steps to do the review I indicated during the review of the main estimates.

The issues raised by my colleagues in their Members' statements, the co-payments, the medical travel, the coordination issues, the lack of consistency, are all things that we are going to be looking at. We are going to be coming back to the Legislature and the committees, as well as the health boards and other stakeholders, to make sure we come up with a policy that better reflects the realities we face today. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was not too sure if that was a yes, maybe or we are not too sure, but my next question flip-flops my original question. If you are not able to ensure that travel will be a means of providing medical service, will you increase the amount of doctors and specialists that go into our communities? Instead of having a doctor go in once a month, they go in two or three times a month so we do not have to continue to transport our people to the regional centres?

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in addition to trying to improve the Medical Travel Policy and the other supplementary health benefits programs, we are also, through the action plan, looking at the service model we are going to use and the service levels in the communities.

We recognize once again, very clearly, that the service into the smaller communities with specialists, dentists and doctors would be better if it could be improved. We are also trying to make sure that we staff the existing vacancies amongst doctors.

I would like to say that yes, we are attempting to improve both of those areas. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I alluded to earlier in my Member's statement, the Department of Health and Social Services has a number of brochures outlining current programs provided under the auspices of the department. This does provide some information to patients having to travel outside of their home communities for treatment, but I think more needs to be done in the area of accurate information sharing with regard to medical travel.

Would the Minister please advise where in the brochures put out by the department is there mention of a co-payment for patients having to travel outside of their home communities for medical attention? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the Department of Health and Social Services, Mr. Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, based on my colleague's Member's statement and his review of the brochures that he commented on in terms of their quality, with the exception of the one gap that nowhere is the $250 mentioned, I would say that it is not mentioned. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.