Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Hay River Regional Health Centre has a beautiful dialysis unit that is staffed by a great group of practitioners. I hear nothing but good things about the services provided by that unit, and we are lucky to have it in Hay River.
However, Mr. Speaker, there is only enough staff to service eight dialysis patients, and that is simply not enough. The facility itself can easily accommodate more patients. There are four dialysis machines, but they are each only used twice a day, three days a week. In Yellowknife, I believe they run three shifts a day, six days a week. If we did that in Hay River, we could triple our capacity. I am not sure if we need that many slots available, but I know for a fact that we need more. Last that I heard, there were three residents of Hay River receiving dialysis treatment in Yellowknife, and prior to that, at least one of them was staying in Edmonton to receive treatment. Situations like this are not uncommon.
Most patients, if not all, who are sent to Yellowknife are put up at Vital Abel House. It is a boarding home that is meant to accommodate brief stays. However, Mr. Speaker, these dialysis patients are usually not there for just a night or two. It is more likely that they are there for weeks, months, or even years.
These patients, many of them seniors, must leave their friends and families and move into a facility where they must share sleeping quarters and washrooms with strangers. These people have no privacy, none of the comforts or emotional supports that they would have back home, and have no idea when they will be able to return home. That is far from an ideal situation. It can have real negative effects on people's mental and physical health.
What I don't understand, Mr. Speaker, is why we do this. It is my understanding that it costs the government about $200 a day to put people up in boarding homes such as Vital Abel. That's $73,000 a year. It seems like there are always a few residents of Hay River staying at Vital Abel House so that they can receive dialysis. That's hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Mr. Speaker, it would be cheaper to get these people their own apartments in Yellowknife and put them up for a year. Moreover, I have constituents who have told me that they have had to sleep on the couch while staying at Vital Abel because there were no beds available.
Mr. Speaker, there must be a better way to provide dialysis treatment to the residents of Hay River. I will have questions for the Minister of Health at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.