Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan has expressed concern that the NWT health system is not using patient feedback effectively.
At the territorial legislature on Tuesday, Morgan said she is frustrated that feedback from patients “seems to fall into a black hole” instead of leading to meaningful change or action.
Morgan pointed to the GNWT’s Office of Client Experience, which documented receiving 448 requests for support in the first half of 2024. Top concerns included medical travel decisions, language barriers, access to medical records, and patients feeling their health concerns were dismissed.
While the office works to help individual patients, she said it is unclear whether health authorities are using the information to make system-wide changes.
“There is no budget for Indigenous language services in HSS outside Stanton,” she said, using an initialism for the Department of Health and Social Services.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“There’s no standard procedure for how medical travel staff are supposed to assess a patient’s English language proficiency and whether they need an escort.
“This creates unjust outcomes for patients, and it puts front-line staff at risk of being deemed racist if a patient doesn’t agree with their decision.”
Morgan called the patient experience questionnaire, open to all residents until November 10, frustrating because it only asks about a person’s most recent healthcare visit rather than assessing care over time or across multiple locations.
“Similar questionnaires in previous years have not reported back to the public. What actually changed as a result of their feedback?” she asked.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“It’s not enough to recognize systemic racism or dysfunction and then hire navigators to keep running into brick walls over and over. The point is to use the feedback to break down the brick walls preventing people – especially Indigenous people – from accessing vital services.”
Morgan asked health minister Lesa Semmler how concerns documented by patient advocates are translated into systemic action by health authorities.
Semmler said data gathered by the office has helped identify persistent issues like medical travel and the escort policy, which often depends on federal approval through the Non-Insured Health Benefits program. She said the data is being used to push Ottawa to revise policies that don’t meet the realities of small, isolated communities in the NWT.
“We didn’t have any actual data on the things that were being brought forward, especially when it came to Indigenous people,” Semmler said.
Morgan also asked how public feedback collected through the patient experience questionnaire is analyzed and reported. Semmler said the questionnaire, conducted every two to three years, helps the department’s internal quality improvement and business planning.
Morgan noted she couldn’t find recent reports online and urged the minister to “direct the health authority to resume detailed reporting on patient satisfaction and patient outcomes.”
Semmler said she would review the situation and report back on next steps.
Related Articles