{"id":234674,"date":"2025-10-23T15:09:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/234674\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T15:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:09:19","slug":"mla-calls-out-feedback-black-hole-in-nwt-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/234674\/","title":{"rendered":"MLA calls out feedback \u2018black hole\u2019 in NWT healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan has expressed concern that the NWT health system is not using patient feedback effectively.<\/p>\n

At the territorial legislature on Tuesday, Morgan said she is frustrated that feedback from patients \u201cseems to fall into a black hole\u201d instead of leading to meaningful change or action.<\/p>\n

Morgan pointed to the GNWT\u2019s Office of Client Experience, which documented receiving 448 requests for support in the first half of 2024. Top concerns included\u00a0medical travel decisions, language barriers, access to medical records, and patients feeling their health concerns were dismissed.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no budget for Indigenous language services in HSS outside Stanton,\u201d she said, using an initialism for the Department of Health and Social Services.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s no standard procedure for how medical travel staff are supposed to assess a patient\u2019s English language proficiency and whether they need an escort.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis creates unjust outcomes for patients, and it puts front-line staff at risk of being deemed racist if a patient doesn\u2019t agree with their decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan called the\u00a0patient experience questionnaire<\/a>, open to all residents until November 10, frustrating because it only asks about a person\u2019s most recent healthcare visit rather than assessing care over time or across multiple locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimilar questionnaires in previous years have not reported back to the public. What actually changed as a result of their feedback?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s 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 \u2013 especially Indigenous people \u2013 from accessing vital services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan asked health minister Lesa Semmler how concerns documented by patient advocates are translated into systemic action by health authorities.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t meet the realities of small, isolated communities in the NWT.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have any actual data on the things that were being brought forward, especially when it came to Indigenous people,\u201d Semmler said.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s internal quality improvement and business planning.<\/p>\n

Morgan noted she couldn\u2019t find recent reports online and urged the minister to \u201cdirect the health authority to resume detailed reporting on patient satisfaction and patient outcomes.\u201d <\/p>\n

Semmler said she would review the situation and report back on next steps.<\/p>\n

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