Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Later today I will be tabling the written portion of the petition calling for expansion of the Midwifery Program in Yellowknife and the extension of this programming throughout the Territories. Taken together with the Assembly’s first ever on-line e-petition, of 304 signatures, a total of 377 persons -- 161 from Yellowknife and 176 from outside the capital -- are calling on the government for increased support to midwifery.
We recognize midwifery as a regulated profession through the creation of legislation in 2005. This action only formalized the ancestral tradition of home-assisted birth that has been the basis of child delivery as long as there have been children. Midwives have been honoured community caregivers in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal society. Demand for this service is in resurgence.
In the NWT Hospital Services 2006 Report, childbirth and pregnancy were reported as the top reasons for hospitalizations, at an estimated cost of $4.4 million per year. The vast majority of hospitalizations were for labour, delivery and aftercare of mothers. Add to this the huge costs of travel, medical, ground transportation and complicated staff services.
As the letter of support for the petition from the NWT and Nunavut Public Health Association says, the GNWT now needs to prove its commitment to the continuation of midwifery services by providing sufficient resources. I fully support the actions called for by this petition. Here’s another case where, based upon the community health and nursing centre delivery model, we have an opportunity to pursue improved care, respond to community wishes and needs, with a prospect of enormous cost savings.
I haven’t seen any departmental analysis of the case for midwifery. This is bad business. It is basic practice when offered the prospect of an improved customer service model that a cost-benefit analysis is performed to nail down the facts. That’s an important piece of staff business we could start today without the devotion of any new resources.
I will also be tabling a written question today, asking for basic information on the cost and volume of hospital and midwifery birthing. I urge the Minister to use this question to kick-start a thorough review of this opportunity. The faster we get this information, the faster we can stop paying operating costs and start putting money into good public health care jobs in the communities. Mr. Speaker, I will be asking the Minister questions on how soon she can start. Mahsi.