Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Transportation. The Minister of Transportation and I had a visit in Deline last year and we talked about the safety of the lake and we did talk about the concept of the road going around a section of the lake to hook up to the winter road on the other side of the Bear River.
Is that concept still alive within this department as to the wishes of the people of Deline?
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Minister of Transportation, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member speaks about the road that would go around the arm that’s near Deline, as opposed to going straight across. For sure, if there was an all-season road across there, that would be something that would be good for even the speed with which we put the winter road in.
I guess the issue is there also has to be, in order to gain access to that side during the winter months, we’d have to cross the Bear River to get to that all-season road that they’re wishing to build. The community looked at that as one of the possibilities in case there was a viable way to put hydro on the Bear River and they felt that that was the ideal location. So they would build a road to it. It would take money, we recognize that. It’s about a $20 million project that the community is looking at. It would be looked at along with other major access road projects that the region is looking at. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just want to follow up with more questions to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, but it seems like he’s stepped out for a second. So please put me back on the list, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The list is done. Mr. Moses.
My apologies, Mr. Speaker, and my apologies to the Minister there. Like I said, I just want to follow up to questions about these reports that I’ve been trying to catch up on and getting reports on.
Under these last stakeholder meetings, there were nine sessions held throughout the Northwest Territories between 2009-2010. There were 36 organizations that participated and in collaboration with about 21 different strategies and initiatives. So a lot of information out there. Also in the report are 30 recommendations that were given to the department.
Is there an update on these 30 recommendations, and at the symposium will the stakeholders be updated on those 30 recommendations that were from the previous report? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Minister of Education, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. That information that we received, whether it be the 21 different strategies, there was the 30 recommendations. Our government has done a lot of work in this area. Most of the information that we collect, obviously, is through our negotiation with the federal government through the Labour Market Development Agreement, Labour Market Agreement, the Canada-NWT Job Fund that we successfully negotiated. We compiled the information, shared it with the Minister of the day with the federal government. That is information that we’ve been compiling.
Obviously, during our engagement with the general public, as I stated, starting today, February 23rd until March 2nd, all that information will be highlighted as well. Again, we’re building on the successful work that we’ve done over the years, hearing the NWT’s perspective on how we can develop an action plan and how we can move forward. Mahsi.
I appreciate the work that the department is doing in this area, but like I said, we’ve got a lot of recommendations, a lot of strategies out there. We’ve got to start putting money and our resources into creating action, creating jobs, creating the training that’s needed. Actually, in one of the reports one of the consultants identifies what is happening in each of the regions. Deh Cho has zinc; Sahtu has the oil and gas; Inuvik we have the Inuvik-Tuk highway, Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Link; South Slave has Avalon Metals resource development all over these regions. Why aren’t our people getting the jobs and the training that they need?
One of the things that came out of this report was the implementation of regional training committees. Can the Minister give me an update on how many committees we have in the regions and how actively are they working on creating the training and the jobs that we need in the small communities and the regions? Thank you.
The Member is raising this profile because there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, information that we’re compiling. The fibre optic was in discussion in 2009. Now it’s here, 2015-2016, and it’s going to be happening. We need to have the resources and we need to have the information on how many are required, positions that are required, the talented individuals, the skillsets required and also the Sahtu training institute that’s been brought up in this House. We’re compiling all of that information. We’re getting the people ready for all this work that is out there, whether it be oil and gas, whether it be Fibre Optic Link.
We’re doing what we can as a department. With all of the information we want to develop an action plan. That’s what our goal and objective is. Mahsi.
I think all you need to hear is from the communities and the regions. Look at some of our statistics for unemployment. As I mentioned, I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel and create an action plan. We know what’s out there. We know what we need to do. We know where we need to put the money to invest in our greatest resource right now, which is our people.
What is the cost to the taxpayer and this government for these regional engagement sessions that the Minister is embarking on during this week? Thank you.
Mahsi. The specific information, which highlights how much it would cost us to reach out to the key people, the stakeholders, the industry representatives, community members, leadership, I don’t have that information here but I can provide that to the Member. But this is an area that we need to seek input. The more information the better, then we can develop an action plan. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree. The more information we get from our people speaking up, the better we can go ahead and make the decisions that we need to do. But there are 21 strategies and initiatives that I mentioned, not to mention the ones that have been developed since this consultation in 2009 and 2010.
I want to get back into the small communities. Because we’re going to be doing a symposium and I’m assuming that we’re going to invite the same people that we’re going to hear from at the regional sessions, I want to ask the Minister whether or not he can speak with his stakeholders to put the money from the regional centres sessions into possibly creating scholarships and getting our people educated, putting the money for people to get educated, and everybody else can meet when they come down for the symposium? Thank you.
The symposium, obviously, is geared towards I believe it’s the second week in March, March 11th to 12th I believe. This has been a long time in the works, and those individuals, obviously, will cover the small communities as well. Any input such as what the Member is sharing with us and others from the general public will be shared at that forum. Based on the report, obviously, they will create a framework that deals with the labour market in the whole Northwest Territories. So, we’ll do what we can to work with the stakeholders and have an action plan to move forwards with. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. Item 8, written questions, Mr. Yakeleya.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to go back on the orders of the day to item number five.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have the pleasure of recognizing the leadership of Deline in the gallery this afternoon. Yesterday we had some beautiful music from the Deline drummers at the celebration here. Of course, Deline is the birthplace of ice hockey in Canada and Deline is the place where you want to catch the largest, biggest trout in the whole wide world. I want to recognize the leadership, the negotiating team, the elders from Deline who are here on this historic day for themselves. They also brought along a friend, I think, one of the leaders from Colville Lake, Mr. Joseph Kochon. Welcome to the Assembly.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Mr. McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to welcome my constituency assistant to the gallery, chaperoning a couple of Pages and I’ll recognize them later on in the week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Item 9, returns to written questions. Item 10, replies to opening address. Item 11, petitions. Item 12, reports of standing and special committees. Item 13, reports of committees on the review of bills. Mr. Nadli.
I wish to report to the Assembly that the Standing Committee on Government Operations has conducted its review of Bill 12, Northern Employee Benefits Services Professions Act, and wishes to report to the Assembly that Bill 12 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole as amended and reprinted.
Further, the Standing Committee on Government Operations has also conducted a review of Bill 43, An Act to Amend the Borrowing Authorization Act, and would like to report that Bill 43 is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document, entitled “Sharing, Love and Respect: Report on the Deliberations of the 2014 NWT Anti-Poverty Round Table.” Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS all workers in the Northwest Territories deserve a safe workplace that is free from the threat of physical assault;
AND WHEREAS non-violent crisis intervention is not adequate or appropriate protection of staff and patients in the face of violent physical attack;
AND WHEREAS contracted security personnel and other staff at Stanton Territorial Hospital and territorial health care facilities are not trained to protect employees, patients, themselves or others from violent people;
AND WHEREAS staff at territorial health care facilities are currently at high risk of physical and mental harm, with recent violent incidents at Stanton Territorial Hospital causing injury, including post-traumatic stress disorder, to three health care workers, and property damage;
AND WHEREAS RCMP response times have not always been prompt enough to intervene during a violent episode;
AND WHEREAS the Union of Northern Workers has expressed grave concerns about the lack of protection afforded to its members at Stanton Territorial Hospital, and the anxiety members subsequently experience;
AND WHEREAS a recommendation from the 2011 inquiry into the Leishman case called on the Department of Health and Social Services to consider hiring trained in-house special constables with legislated powers to restrain and assist in direct patient care;
AND WHEREAS security personnel at Stanton Territorial Hospital should be full-fledged government employees to ensure long-term job security and retention of experienced, well-trained employees;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that the Legislative Assembly strongly recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services clarify procedures for Stanton Territorial Hospital employees to follow when violent incidents occur, including procedures expressly for the use of physical restraint in these cases;
AND FURTHER, that the Department of Health and Social Services direct Stanton Territorial Hospital management to hire security personnel with recognized training in non-violent crisis intervention and physical-restraint techniques;
AND FURTHER, that security personnel at territorial health care facilities be hired as full-fledged employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories, guaranteeing continuity of service and benefits resulting from accumulated experience, institutional memory and professional training;
AND FURTHERMORE, that the Department of Health and Social Services review its policies and procedures pertaining to security at territorial health care facilities and report back to the House within 120 days. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. To the motion. Mr. Bromley.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Workers’ safety for all government workers is of primary importance and hospital workers are really no different from carpenters, electricians and others, although the hazards may be different.
In a perfect world, non-violent intervention would be adequate and de-escalation would always work. But in the real world this sometimes is not enough and this is exactly what we are seeing at Stanton Hospital, both currently in the emergency department and the psychiatric unit. I have been at the hospital and hearing code whites frequently.
When violence occurs, it is necessary to have trained people in place to protect staff from injury due to assault for whatever reason it occurs, be it drug induced or the result of mental health issues. I am all for making sure this is well-qualified help. We want to avoid physical restraint, if it is possible to do, to avoid a situation through non-violent negotiations.
Medical staff should not be required to use physical force to control violent patients. Properly and thoroughly trained security personnel proficient, again, in non-violent crisis intervention and in safe, physical restraint measures are the proper resource.
Properly trained people charged with the restraint of people out of control will also reduce the risk of injury to the people who need to be restrained as well as the targets of their assault, as the unfortunate Allisdair Leishman episode so clearly showed. The Leishman report, of course, recommended hiring and training a special constable to handle such incidents, yet was never followed up on.
Experience has taught us that it is difficult for the RCMP to respond quickly enough when one of these fast-evolving, violent episodes unfolds and essentially things depend on luck. They depend on the close proximity of an RCMP unit or that they happen to be not tied up with other incidents at that moment in time, which is clearly inadequate and an irresponsible basis for providing security for our workers.
The union representing health care workers has expressed concern about lack of protection for front-line health workers, and I would like, at a minimum, to ensure that a member of the executive from the UNW should be appointed to the safety and security working group being proposed.
Health care workers are reporting high levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder due to violence they have experienced on the job, and they are choosing to remove themselves from certain jobs due to the lack of action by this government over time. They appreciate the things that are being done, but all of the things that are being done, they tell me, are not sufficient without dealing with the restraint issue.
Contracted security workers are not adequately trained to protect workers and property. Cost should not be a factor when it comes to job safety. Retention of well-trained and experienced security personnel becomes paramount and would be imminently doable if a routine provision was put in place.
It’s hard enough to retain qualified health care workers in the NWT, as we know, without losing them because of job stress due to violence in the workplace, but this is a real threat and I believe we have already lost people because of this.
Recently, a violent patient-initiated incident and left three health care workers injured and thousands of dollars of property damage. An unacceptable level of confusion remains over legislation and policy provision to support physical interventions when necessary. I know the Minister has tried to clarify this, but this certainly needs immediate resolution.
Threats to Stanton Territorial staff are real, immediate and quantified. They are real. The time for study is over. Staff are being physically and mentally harmed and there are serious vulnerabilities with potential for much greater harm. Action is clearly needed now.
I recognize the need for territorial assessment at all of our health facilities and at the long-term and extended care facilities throughout the NWT. I have worked with my colleagues on this. This is something that is needed and can be done on a non-emergency basis, but needs to get started right now so we are not finding the situation at Stanton is developing throughout the NWT.
As we know, Mr. Speaker, the Stanton Territorial Hospital is the one facility where every resident of the Northwest Territories will find themselves at one point or another. It’s the busiest by far of our territorial facilities and that’s where the issues are repeatedly arising without resolution.
This motion is intended to address that, and I very much appreciate the support of my colleagues in bringing this forward and the support of the Member for Sahtu in seconding the motion. Again, I look forward to comments and debate. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Bromley. I will allow the seconder of the motion comment. Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank Mr. Bromley for bringing this motion to the committee to have a discussion and a chance to talk about it today.
In today’s society, when you look at this motion, it’s quite challenging for health care workers. Today you don’t know what type of people will walk into our health care facilities. You don’t know what type of drugs they might be on or where they’ve been or what kind of state they’re in. You think you are bringing them in to get help for whatever injury they may have or where they may be hurt really badly, but for them, being on some of the drugs that are out there right now, they don’t know and they put the situation in a dangerous sense with the nurse or the doctors and things get a little bit crazy.
I’ve said to Mr. Bromley I’d be able to second this motion because in the motion it talks about health care facilities in our small communities in the Sahtu and extended care or care facilities, that we’re going to get a facility. But we need to have our health centres a safe place to work even in small communities.
I understand in the small communities there are some drugs that are getting into our communities. I was talking to someone over the past summer and they were saying that there were some drugs coming up from Edmonton that they’re starting to see in some of our young kids, and it’s dangerous. This is what I’m thinking about in the future, having some care facilities have the nurses be safe and do help our people.
I want to thank Mr. Bromley to ask the Health department to look at these facilities, make sure they’re okay, make sure they’ve got the protection. Also, for Stanton Hospital it’s more prevalent because of the bigger city and more things are happening, but not to take light of other small communities. They also need to be looked at. These are my comments for supporting this motion.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. To the motion. Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to, first of all, thank Mr. Bromley and Mr. Yakeleya for bringing this motion before the House. I know GNWT employees and residents probably thank them as well. Our employees have the right to work in a safe environment, but our residents also have the right to safe and quality health care, and when incidents like this happen, that safe and quality health care gets compromised. We will have people who might be working in a condition where they’re nervous, they’re not sure what’s going to happen, and it could compromise the health care of others that are getting the treatment that they need.
I know when I speak to people back home in Inuvik with the health services we have there, a lot of times there is a lot of interaction with people and dealing with people with alcohol and drug issues and, in some cases, coming into the emergency room under the influence. A worst-case scenario is a physical altercation happens, and we need to address that. In some cases this motion will bring forth the right services, the right training and people that want to stay in these jobs, if they’re full-time employees of the GNWT, and provide that continuity of service as well as the training that’s needed to make sure the environment is safe.
I know we’ve done some work. I know in Inuvik we’ve created those inclusion rooms. I think that’s something that needs to also be looked at in addressing how we move forward in terms of this motion. If we have enough inclusion rooms in all the health centres or in the regional centres or in places where we have high activity of economic development, because that’s where we start to see an increase in terms of drugs and crime when we have a lot of money flowing into some of the communities when the economy is really high.
I know in Inuvik a couple of years ago, I went to a training session at the Inuvik Hospital for our staff. They had a retired RCMP official come up from Calgary and teach safe intervention, non-violent crisis intervention. I didn’t think they got into the physical restraints but that’s something that I think needs to be dealt with, especially with the incidents that we’ve seen here recently at Stanton Hospital.
I always make reference to this, but mental health and addictions is our biggest cost driver in the Northwest Territories. We do have a lot of cases of mental health illness. In some of the bigger centres like here where we do have a lot of people attending the hospital, I think it just increases the chances for incidents of such and, as Mr. Bromley had alluded to earlier, just the post-traumatic stress disorder. I made a statement in the House a couple weeks ago about that, but I know when we have officials and GNWT employees who are in that type of environment or have experienced a traumatic event like that, they’re going to need the services and the help to do their jobs efficiently and to do their jobs again.
I do support the motion and I, once again, thank Mr. Bromley and Mr. Yakeleya for bringing this motion forward. It’s something that does need to be addressed.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. To the motion. Ms. Bisaro.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too rise in support of this motion and I want to thank the mover and the seconder for bringing it forward. I think it’s a very important issue to consider. We have had a very serious situation at Stanton. We’ve had several serious situations at Stanton and it seems that it is happening more and more often. As has been mentioned, we have other health care facilities within the NWT and we don’t want the same thing to happen there.
A change is needed. Some adjustment is needed, and it needs to be made sooner rather than later. The Minister has said that the hospital is doing an evaluation, that the hospital is doing some planning. That’s been happening for a number of months now so it’s not something which should be taking this long to make the change. It requires a much faster response, and the reasons in the motion and the reasons that have been articulated by my colleague Mr. Bromley are the very reasons why we need to have a faster response. It also needs a stronger response than what we’ve seen so far. There have been some changes made, from what I understand, but I don’t believe that they go far enough. There needs to be an opportunity for staff to feel safe. That’s been mentioned already. I don’t think staff feel safe if they don’t know that the security guards who are there can use physical restraint to deal with people that are unruly.
The main focus in this motion tends to be Stanton, but as I’ve said, we have health care facilities throughout the NWT and we need to make sure that the same situations do not end up happening in health care facilities outside of Yellowknife.
In 2011 an analysis of the situation that occurred with Allisdair Leishman had a number of recommendations, and one of them was to increase security at the hospital. It’s my understanding that there were no changes at the hospital. Those recommendations from that investigation were not followed up on. So for any number of reasons, we need to make sure that we take action, that we take action soon. For the safety of our staff particularly, I think staff need to be recognized for the work that they do there and for the situation that we are putting them in. Not all the time, but they shouldn’t be in that situation at all.
I want to say that I appreciate Mr. Bromley for bringing this motion forward, and I would urge my colleagues to vote in favour.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. To the motion. Mr. Menicoche.
Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be rising in support of this motion this afternoon. I think that the recent incidents at Stanton really highlight the need for safety at the territorial hospital, only because we also have clients and the travelling public from the small communities that go to Stanton. I think Mr. Bromley spoke about how stressful and fearful it can be when there’s an incident that does arise. I also believe that, for whatever reason, there have been many incidents quickly developing, so we as government have to come up with a plan or strategy to increase the type of security that’s available for the employees and the public as well.
Over time when things like this happen, I think the confidence and trust of the public kind of gets waned or it gets lessened, so I think that our government has to act just as quickly to restore the confidence and the trust in our health care system as people come to Yellowknife and get their health care needs.
With that, I believe it’s a good motion and the government is going to have to act quickly just to let the public know that they will be protected as well as for the employees themselves.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. To the motion. Mr. Nadli.
Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I too rise in support of this motion. The hospital emergency situation in Stanton, I think it’s a paramount matter that needs to be addressed and is needed. Security and safety is essential and should be established in the hospital. Of course, there are two more likely spots in the hospital, the emergency ward and the psychiatric ward that need to at least have immediate security systems in place.
Of course, we’re trying to learn from the incident that happened in 2011 regarding Allisdair Leishman and we need to make things right to ensure that there is a level of safety at the facility. At the same time, there are proposed renovations to the hospital. Just the nature and the scope we don’t understand yet, but hopefully it will address the security issues as well.
At the same time, there are similar security needs in all of our communities across the NWT, specifically for our facilities such as the health centres as well. Mahsi.
Thank you, Mr. Nadli. To the motion. Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an interesting topic and certainly I, like my colleagues, am very concerned for the safety of our workplaces in hospitals and care facilities and all facilities in the Northwest Territories. Safety in the workplace has to be a paramount concern.
Some other Members have referred to many incidents and I don’t know if that would be a fair characterization because I don’t know the numbers of incidents involved. I think back to just a few weeks ago when there was an incident on Parliament Hill and the good members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, right after that incident, put two police officers on the driveway here at the Legislative Assembly in response to that one incident that occurred on Parliament Hill. I bring up that because it is indicative to me that I don’t think that that’s the kind of response that we can afford to some isolated incidents at Stanton Territorial Hospital.
I think we need a broader take on a safe workplace. We need to look at perhaps enclosed areas. I know people in Justice that deal with probation services and deal with probation clients and so on, when they are dealing with certain clients there is a safe place to go where they are protected. So I think we need to look at this in a broad context.
When this came up in committee, I mentioned that I don’t think we have enough money, enough resources to prepare for people in every place in every space where there’s an inevitability, where there’s a possibility, even a relatively high possibility, of something occurring. Mr. Nadli mentioned the psychiatric ward or the emergency ward and I think we have to be realistic. I’m going to try to be realistic about this. I don’t think that we can have people that are solely dedicated to security that are at a place, at a workplace 24/7 in case something happens. I think there may be a way, though, when we look at this in the broader context, there may be a way of enabling, equipping, training, preparing people to respond to an emergency that are already in the workplace. I don’t know who those people might be, but I think we need to take a really multi-faceted approach to this issue of safety in the workplace. I just don’t think we should set our hearts on something that isn’t reasonably affordable or sustainable or fair, because we are talking about very specifically, in this motion, Stanton Territorial Hospital.
As I said also in committee, we have drugs and alcohol and problems with violence in every community in the Northwest Territories. We have nurses attending nursing stations by themselves in a community with no RCMP presence and they are dealing with people, the same kinds of issues, everything from A to Z. It’s not the concentration and the traffic and the volume of people you’d be dealing with at a territorial facility like Stanton, but it is still individual cases where those particular employees of ours could be at some risk.
So, I think we need to discuss this. I think we need to consider recommendations that have come out as a result of inquiries. I just don’t think that having dedicated security people in one facility, in one community is the answer to the problem. I think we need to take a broader view of this and I will support this motion in the hopes that – it is a recommendation – it will lead to more discussion about this. But I just want to say that I’m concerned about the safety in the workplace of all of our health care workers, of all of our GNWT workers, but certainly in areas where there’s a higher risk of potential harm. I think we need to take a very broad approach to how we can implement things to protect the interests of those folks that are serving us in those places. Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. To the motion. Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Member for promoting the importance of safety in our health and social services workplace. I’d also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge just how incredibly important this issue is not only at Stanton but for staff in all of our facilities across the entire Northwest Territories. I totally agree that our workers deserve a safe workplace that is free from the threat of physical assault. At the same time, we need to ensure that our patients and our clients deserve to receive treatment in a caring and supportive atmosphere.
This is what makes it so challenging in finding an appropriate balance to this incredibly difficult situation. The motion suggests that all workers in the Northwest Territories deserve a safe workplace that is free from threat or physical assault. We absolutely agree. The safety and security of staff, patients, residents and clients in the health care facilities is one of my number one concerns. Our staff are our most valuable resource. Workers not only deserve to work in a safe workplace but are entitled to a safe workplace. Safety and security of workers dealing with violence in health care settings is a challenge not only at Stanton but across the Northwest Territories as well as across Canada. Every situation and facility brings its own unique challenges. Many of us have seen the facilities that we have and know that every facility is different. We need to ensure that our staff are safe, and we are taking steps today to make this happen.
The motion also suggests that non-violent crisis intervention is not adequate or appropriate protection of staff and patients in the face of violent physical attack. I don’t agree that non-violent crisis intervention is not the appropriate philosophy for our facilities. The Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Program is considered a worldwide standard for crisis prevention and intervention training with a core philosophy of providing care, welfare, safety and security of everyone involved in crisis situations. The program’s proven strategies give human service providers and educators the skills to safely and effectively respond to anxious, hostile or violent behaviour while balancing the responsibilities of care. But I do agree that it can’t work unless it includes proper training, clear expectations about the performance of security guards and clear procedures for dealing with situations where violence escalates. Stanton is currently taking steps to make the improvements in this particular area.
The movers suggest that contracted security personnel and other staff at Stanton Territorial Hospital and territorial health care facilities are not trained to protect employees, patients, themselves or others from violent people. Our staff and security personnel have been provided with training on basic techniques to deal with most scenarios, to restrain individuals and to escape harm.
We acknowledge the concern that not all episodes of violence can be prevented and that in certain situations of extreme violence or escalation, such as the event that we had in November, a more physical approach to restraint or intervention may be warranted. The security contract includes standing orders outlining the responsibilities of security guards in a variety of situations. The orders with respect to the guards in the emergency department indicate that a guard will assist in patient restraint and surveillance in the emergency department under the direction of a charge nurse and within limits of the NVCI training.
Stanton and the security contractor are exploring how training for security guards can be improved to help them respond to a situation where an individual becomes aggressive, violent or difficult to manage. This level of response is one of the gaps that we are working to address in collaboration with the department and with the input of our front-line emergency department staff who have been involved.
Stanton and the security contractor, in partnership, will be sending three employees to investigate a higher level of training that may be adopted. They will attend the next available course offered in Canada, which is April 15 to 17 of 2015. It’s a little ways off, but it’s the earliest one that can be delivered. These individuals will provide their recommendations on the applicability of this course within our setting. Techniques learned in this course can be incorporated into training for select staff to supplement and augment existing training.
The mover also says that the staff of the territorial health care facilities are currently at high risk of physical and mental harm, with recent violent incidents at Stanton Hospital causing injury, including post-traumatic stress disorder to three health care workers, as well as property damage.
The well-being of our staff is always, as I have previously indicated, a priority and I recognize that those who have suffered harm in the provision of care to our residents. Supports are available for our staff involved in violent situations, including an immediate debrief and incident investigation as well as an offer of immediate medical and psychological supports for our impacted staff.
We also routinely offer information from the Employee and Family Assistance Program, EFAP, through the Department of Human Resources, to help them deal with any issues including anxiety resulting from any incident that they have been involved with.
Unfortunately, we must also acknowledge there’s a certain amount of risk inherent in working in the provision of health services. As a system, we do need to take steps to minimize the risk of harm to our staff. The working group established to review safety and security policies and provisions will inform and help prioritize steps we need to take system-wide, not just at Stanton.
This may include physical improvements to helping social services facilities, improved procedures for staff safety, staff training and awareness or provisions for security personnel in some of our facilities outside of Yellowknife.
Mr. Speaker, the motion goes further to suggest the RCMP response times have not always been prompt enough to intervene during violent episodes. There is no doubt the typical response times for RCMP to attend the hospital in the case of a violent episode can pose a risk. Stanton’s senior management have met with the RCMP to explore how they can work together more effectively. In recognition of this gap, we will be putting interim measures in place to assure higher levels of intervention is available to assist until the RCMP arrive. I will go into that a little later.
In the longer term, enhanced training and clarification of roles and responsibilities will be addressed with the security staff as well as the staff within the facility. That has already been done.
The mover states that the Union of Northern Workers has expressed grave concerns about the lack of protection afforded to its members at Stanton Territorial Hospital and the anxiety members subsequently experience. Stanton has been working with the UNW, local 11, to follow examples of committees where there is joint participation. The joint consultation committee is made up of executive members of the union Local 11, who are elected by-annually, and members of Stanton’s senior management team. The terms of reference for this committee state that the union local executive members shall consist of, as a minimum, the local president, the members of the local executive and other members of the local executive that may be deemed necessary or required.
We also have the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee which is comprised of elected members of union Local 11 and Stanton management representatives. The terms of reference indicate the committee shall be compromised of five representatives elected by the UNW Local 11 members.
Stanton has also established a violence committee with managers and front-line staff. The Department of Health and Social Safety and Security Working Group have front-line staff from Stanton who are members of the UNW. Further, the Workplace Safety and Compensation Commission, WSCC, regularly inspects Stanton to make recommendations to provide a safe workplace.
In relation to the two incidents reported in the media, WSCC completed two safety inspections and Stanton has complied with all the directions as a result of these inspections. Stanton will continue to engage UNW members and executive as we move forward on all these different initiatives.
The mover also states that a recommendation from a 2011 inquiry into an incident in 2009 fell onto the Department of Health and Social Services to consider hiring trained, in-house special constables with legislative powers to train and assist in direct patient care. The internal investigation into an incident in 2011 resulted in recommendations to implement a model which would involve legislation to establish a special category of security officer. After careful consideration both in 2011 and again more recently, it was determined that this was not required in the Northwest Territories. The Criminal Code of Canada provides for individuals to exercise a reasonable amount of force to ensure their safety and security and that of their property. This allows Stanton to expand the scope of physical intervention provided by its security contractor within existing legislative framework.
As a note, Mr. Speaker, in response to the 2011 review, Stanton did take measures to increase security throughout the hospital including increased security guard coverage in the emergency department, installations of doors, locks and alarms, and training and improved operational response for incidents of violence. Mr. Speaker, clearly, based on November, more needed to be done.
The mover has also said that security personnel at Stanton Hospital should be full-fledged government employees to ensure long-term job security and retention of experienced, well-trained employees. This request to bring security personnel into the GNWT public service is a new ask and hasn’t been raised with my office until this motion. We have not considered bringing security personnel at territorial facilities into the public service. However, as a result of this motion, we will take a look at it. I do have to just say, Mr. Speaker, it would have to be done within the fiscal reality that we have today and the cost of bringing in a security team as full-fledged employees of the GNWT could be incredibly expensive and could take away from some of the program areas we are also delivering, but we will do the work. We will do the analysis. I think it’s worth it.
The mover of the motion also strongly recommended that the Department of Health and Social Services clarify procedures for Stanton Territorial Hospital employees to follow when violent incidents occur, including procedures expressly for the use of physical restraint in these cases.
Since the very disturbing incident in the emergency department last November, Stanton has again increased security coverage in the emergency department, installed safety devices including one-way windows and bathroom locks, implemented enhanced reporting procedures for situations involving violence. A number of the structural changes were actually recommended by staff of the emergency department and acted on immediately.
In addition, an external security expert has been retained to conduct a review of Stanton’s physical layout and security policies and procedures. Their initial recommendations will look at immediate improvements for physical security provisions. An initial report will be received at the end of this month, followed by a full report with final recommendations to be received in March.
The mover of the motion also recommended that the Department of Health and Social Services direct Stanton Territorial Hospital management to hire security personnel with recognized training in non-violent crisis intervention and physical restraint techniques. Security guards with a higher level of training will be placed in the emergency department this week, in fact, today, until such time as enhanced training is completed for all security guards and policies and procedures have been updated. Security guards are being trained on the health care facility training courses, and over the longer term Stanton is working with its security contractors to tighten up policies and procedures and to offer a higher level of training which includes physical restraint to all security guards within the facility.
The mover of the motion recommended, furthermore, that security personnel at territorial health care facilities be hired as full-fledged employees of the Government of the Northwest Territories guaranteeing continuity of service and benefits resulted from accumulated experience, institutional memory and professional training. As I’ve already mentioned, we have not considered bringing security personnel at a territorial health care facility into the public service, but as a result of this motion we will certainly be taking a look at it.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, the mover of the motion recommended that the Department of Health and Social Services review its policies and procedures pertaining to security at territorial health care facilities, including long-term care and extended care facilities, and report back to the House within 120 days. I have already established a working group consisting of the departments of Justice and Health and Social Services as well as Stanton Territorial Health and Social Services to do this work. This group will build upon the good work being done at a local level at Stanton and its dedicated employees with a focus on the safety and security provisions and policies to include all health and social services operations. We are also collaborating with other government departments, including Human Resources, Justice and Public Works and Services, for a broader look at safety and security in the government facilities across the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, we want the same thing at the end of the day. We want safe, secure facilities where a patient can receive the best care and our staff are safe. However, as this is a recommendation to government, Cabinet will be abstaining and we will be reporting back within 120 days. Thank you once again, Mr. Speaker.
