Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I begin, I'd like to draw attention to the fact that today is Red Friday, a day Canadians are asked to don red to show support for members of the Canadian Forces, and I happen to be wearing red, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is an all too common medical disorder caused by a blockage of the airway during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for minutes or longer. Left untreated, OSA can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, memory problems, weight gain, depression, lethargy, and headaches. Poor sleep quality as a result of OSA may be a factor of many workplace and traffic accidents.
Over the last several years, the number of NWT residents requesting diagnosis and treatment for this service of sleep apnea has quadrupled, Mr. Speaker, from 40 in 2001 to 166 in 2005. Fortunately there are effective treatment options for OSA, but they come at a price. The CPAP and BiPAP machines commonly used to treat sleep apnea start at around $1,000. Patients also require assistance from home health care companies to set up the machine and provide training on use of the machine. While some employers and government health benefit packages do pick up the cost for this treatment, not everyone is covered by this program so we have many people who fall through the cracks.
Given the seriousness of this condition, Mr. Speaker, and the cost to both the patients and the health care system if it's left untreated, I believe it is critical that we need to ensure that everyone who needs sleep apnea treatment gets it. It's time that we start taking care of all of our citizens, Mr. Speaker. This is a serious condition that needs to be addressed.
Later today, Mr. Speaker, I will have questions, at the appropriate time, for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
---Applause