Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I will use my Member's statement to emphasize the same concerns raised by another Member today. I would like to read a letter I received from a resident, and I quote, "On Monday and Wednesday of this week, March 22nd and 24th, people have been turned away from the medical clinic in Hay River without any outpatient services available; there was no outpatient care available in the hospital as well. People can't get adequate medical attention there either." They are literally told by the staff at the medical clinic that, "There is a medical crisis at the hospital and we can't help you." So those who would need to see a doctor now have no options. Why? Because there are no outpatient services at the hospital.
If the staff at the hospital deem that you're not considered an emergency, they too send you home. So what is an emergency? Why can't people just get adequate care before something turns into a life-threatening event? Why can't the hospital hire any more doctors or RNs to see patients in Hay River? Is this not the Hub of the North? It is my understanding that there are many people from Fort Providence, Kakisa, Enterprise and Fort Resolution, as well as individuals from Fort Smith, who access the health care services in Hay River. Will these individuals who are in dire need to see doctors have to go all the way to High Level or over to Yellowknife?
This is outrageous. Who will help these people? Will the government or the hospital foot the bill for travel costs for these people? I say this because those individuals travel from their home communities to receive treatment but are told they can't be helped. Those individuals, some of whom had to hire others to drive them to Hay River, now can't do anything but wait; some for hours, some for days. Something needs to be done immediately. God forbid an accident occurs on the highway or something and because there is no one available to work, someone might die. Is this right? I don't believe so. I expect an investigation on this very important matter. In an ideal world, more doctors would be hired right away, locums perhaps. Do something. People are suffering and it isn't fair to them.
Mr. Speaker, I feel that this letter clearly demonstrates that there is a critical situation that medical professionals, patients and people in the South Slave region are caught in. I urge this government to expedite the current measures underway to alleviate these concerns of our constituents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause