HAY RIVER - Hay River had its opportunity to say what changes are needed in the NWT's healthcare system.

On Nov. 19, the Department of Health and Social Services held a dialogue session in the community.

The Department of Health and Social Services brought its travelling dialogue sessions on the future of healthcare to Hay River on Nov. 19. The discussion included Shaleen Woodward, left, the director of system reform and innovation with the department, and Sue Cullen, the CEO of the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

It was the fourth in a series of seven such sessions at local health and social services authorities throughout the NWT.

"We're looking at ways to do things better and to be as efficient and as effective as we possibly can," said Shaleen Woodward, director of system reform and innovation with the department.

"We're heading into each authority and having the same kind of discussion to talk about accessibility, sustainability and wellness," she said.

The sessions are designed to discover the priorities that are important to each community and region.

Woodward noted one of the things that keeps coming up at the sessions is improving communications to lvet the public know what programs are offered and how they can be accessed.

The department will use the information for two purposes. One is to help prepare A Foundation for Change, the department's action plan which will take it to 2012. The other purpose is to help create a longer-term strategic plan.

Woodward noted the process will also help the next territorial government.

"It will give us information so that, when we do have a new government, we can say we have recently gone out and had these dialogues, and here's what the outcomes of these dialogues are," she said.

The sessions began in early November and are hoped to be completed in December.

The department will be preparing a report on the findings in the New Year.

Each authority will also receive a summary of its particular discussions.

In Hay River, the discussion centred on such topics as improved communication, creating partnerships between various organizations, sustainability of the healthcare system, the aging population, the increasing cost of prescription drugs, the dependence on locum physicians, and other topics.

"It was a great day," said Sue Cullen, the CEO of the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority. "I think people were really looking at where we are today and how we can actually work forward from today."

The Hay River dialogue session involved a cross-section of the community, including representatives of elders, women, youth, the Town of Hay River, K'atlodeeche First Nation, and other groups and organizations.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.