Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my constituents travel for medical appointments either from Inuvik into Inuvik. If they can't be serviced in Inuvik, they get sent here to Yellowknife. And if they can't do the treatment here, they'll send them to Edmonton. Sometimes this means multiple trips, usually if they follow up with a follow-up appointment needed in Edmonton.
My constituents fly all the way home. They isolate, wait for their next appointment, especially for cancer treatment, MRI, surgeries that can't be done here at Stanton. This means our residents rely by smooth operation by the health authority to ensure that the treatment they get and get it done as needed as quick as possible, and we're thankful for that. But the means of the appointments that are booked by the right doctors at the right hospitals and the appointment's information shared, the patient is so likely to know what's happening. This means that the travel dates, the right places for the patients make their appointments on time.
Mr. Speaker, we've been having problems in my riding for that. We have been getting people travelling that are either booked for the appointment but no ticket at the airport. This means escorts are booked when they're needed so the patient can have assistance at their need, whether they're to move around or to get information translated into their language or someone can support through treatments. It's hard on their body, and the stress level for elders travelling is stressful.
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, sometimes things get missed or appointments don't get booked, forget to book the travel. This means sometimes residents need treatment that don't get it at the right time. And that's got to stop, Mr. Speaker.
We need a patients' advocate. We need somebody to help the patient in the communities. I know the nursing station are doing the best that they can, but they need help too, because they're overworked. A lot of our nursing station staff, our frontline staff, are overworked. We've got four nurses in Tuk that are really overworked. I get yellow notes saying disruption in service provided to our community.
So that being said, we need to help our frontline staff, our health centres. There should be somebody for medical travel in regards to helping them to get proper service. We're thankful for the service that they do provide. I'm not knocking that. But they need help to get people seen. Because when you're getting messages at 2, 3 in the morning, people are supposed to be traveling at 9, 'I can't wake Julie up, you know, or the Minister, say, Hey, I need this to get done.
But first thing in the morning, she replies to her emails, and she wants to help and do good. But we really need to get the Inuvik Health Authority on board to work together for the people of the Delta to get the medical escort travel sorted out for one and to get it sorted out and fixed, Mr. Speaker. I will have questions for the Minister at the appropriate time. Thank you.