“Hiccup Minister” still sparring on medical travel

Last week in the legislature, Levi Barnabas, the MLA for Quttiktuq, wanted to know why some of his constituents from Arctic have a tough time getting home when they’re traveling for medical reasons.

Barnabas said he wanted to direct his questions to the “Hiccup Minister” or Leona Aglukkaq, the minister of health and social services.

MLAs have been peppering Aglukkaq with queries about patient travel problems — what she has called “hiccups.”

“The patients… sometimes they have to wait a day or two, up to a week,” Barnabas said. “It doesn’t affect only the Tammaativvik [Iqaluit’s patient boarding home] patients; it also affects the government because their employees stay in the hotels. If they are going to be constantly left behind, it’s obvious that it will cost more for that individual and for the government. What are the minister’s plans in regard to this?”

Aglukkaq said she wasn’t sure the delays were due to medical travel arrangements or the airline capacity, and promised to discuss the issue more with Barnabas.

To facilitate medical travel, and help lower Pangnirtung’s high unemployment rate, the community’s MLA Peter Kilabuk had another idea. He suggested the GN start a pilot project to train and hire patient escorts.

Aglukkaq also promised to look into Kilabuk’s suggestion.