Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak today about issues surrounding the operation of Stanton Territorial Hospital. During the summer months, the surgery ward has remained closed. It has been closed on and off for the last few years. The excuse, Mr. Speaker, is usually staffing. With the surgery ward closed, patients are being housed in pediatrics. For many obvious reasons, the reliance on pediatrics to house surgery patients seems to be an accident waiting to happen.

Post-operative patients should not be subjected to further possibility of infection nor should they be housed in close proximity to our sick children. Nurses on the ward are having to look after both the pediatric patients and the surgery patients. Mr. Speaker, for a hospital of this size and responsibility, it just doesn’t seem appropriate that this practice is condoned.

Mr. Speaker, this government has a proposed plan to spend at least $27 million at Stanton for the next few years to renovate the hospital. Mr. Speaker, a major incentive for the renovations is to have better space utilization. Mr. Speaker, this is a noble idea. However, what I truly believe Stanton needs to do is refocus its operation on solely providing the delivery of medical services to our residents, to have the hospital fully staffed and resourced. We have been struggling with staffing at this facility for the past 10 years. How many studies, reports, consultants and committees are we going to need to have staffing issues addressed at this hospital?

Recent decisions are being made that just make people wonder what exactly the hospital is there for. Mr. Speaker, this definitely impacts staff morale. Recently, the patient lounge on the surgery ward was turned into four offices to house staff from the medical centre. Certainly, space is at a premium; this is true. But are we looking at turning an entire ward into office space? When you visit hospitals in southern Canada, they seem to have office complexes and buildings near the hospital to house administrative staff. The time has come that the government needs to seriously examine the idea of building a dedicated medical administrative building near Stanton Hospital. If we can’t get the capital dollars, let’s let the private sector step up to the plate and get involved in building this much needed building.

Mr. Speaker, a hospital should be just that, a hospital providing the delivery of health services for our residents, not an office building. Mahsi.

---Applause