Sandy Lee

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services with regard to the statement I made and conversations I had with the Minister. Mr. Speaker, I am fully aware of the fact that as much as possible, we do not want to be sitting here talking about management and operations issues. That is not my intention to do micro-managing or anything like that. I am asking questions in the interest of maintaining the level of health care services that we do have and we cannot deliver the programs in health care without an acute care facility...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I could tell you that these issues have been going on for quite a while. I have been listening to it for about a year and a half and, you know, it's just building and building and I don't think it's in the interest, actually, of the operation of the hospital and delivery of the health care services that this be continued any longer. I understand the extra impetus that the Minister and the department put on when session is on. It's nice. We could use this productively to shed light on issues that have been going on for a long time. So I want to set...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleague Mr. Ramsay in speaking today about issues that need immediate attention by the Minister of Health and Social Services and this government. Mr. Speaker, that has to do with the general human resources and operation issues at Stanton Territorial Hospital that threatens to affect public safety and general health care delivery, not to mention the low morale and frustration of the staff that is resulting in a significant exodus of valuable long-term employees from the hospital.

Mr. Speaker, one that concerns us the most notably...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 6, oral questions?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I might remind the government that this is exactly what we were told when we had issues with the correctional centre. I am telling you right now that I am not suggesting that the Minister should not accept what the deputy ministers are saying. What I am saying is I don’t believe they are getting all the information they need to get from the front-line workers. I would like to ask a very specific question because there are a lot more questions here that I am prepared to pursue over the next two and a half weeks. I would like to ask the Minister, not just looking at...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, the deputy minister of Health just recently came from there. There must be issues he’s aware of. I would think that the Minister would be well aware of this. My belief in this regard is that the regular reporting channel may not be the way to find out and address some of these issues. We are talking about very long-term employees, nurses, maintenance workers, front-line workers, leaving in droves because they feel very frustrated about the working conditions and lack of their ability to have input into the process. I would like to ask...

Thank you. I'm going to go by very good…You know, sometimes we succeed here and sometimes not, and I have to tell you that the survey or whatever the HR department did in working out the questions to get at the concerns of the correctional services I thought were excellent. So I'd like to ask the Minister if he could review with us about sort of detailed methodology about how…He should talk with the senior management, whether it's by survey, or by interview, or by meeting; if he could work with us, from the Members on this side, as to what the plan is so that we could have some input into...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to recognize a couple of nurses in the gallery, Shelly and Vicky. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I could tell you that these issues have been going on for quite a while. I have been listening to it for about a year and a half and, you know, it's just building and building and I don't think it's in the interest, actually, of the operation of the hospital and delivery of the health care services that this be continued any longer. I understand the extra impetus that the Minister and the department put on when session is on. It's nice. We could use this productively to shed light on issues that have been going on for a long time. So I want to set...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent to go back to item 6, oral questions?