Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say I hope this is a oneoff that I never have to stand here and talk about the obstetrics unit being closed again.
In terms of adding an additional staff, I don't know where those discussions are at within the hospital. I do know that the number of births that Stanton has been declining over the last three or four years. I also know that they have a large number of vacancies at this point so I'm not sure that adding another position is actually going to bring them another body, because we are, you know, in the midst of recruiting for those vacancies. So I think that this is a conversation that we need to have. Maybe the value of the fourth position over the long term is that people are more able to take their time off. So it's certainly something I'm interested in. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions, Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, understandably, Members from this side of the House have been holding the Department of Health and Social Services to task this week in this House, but I just wanted to start off with a thank you today during question period.
My two youngest children were vaccinated against COVID19, and I'm incredibly grateful to the Department of Health and Social Services for that.
One of my jokesters asked me if this was his Christmas present and it's probably not his, but it was definitely mine. So thank you very much for that.
Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. It is my understanding that staff surveys are done through the accreditation process for hospitals. What were the outcomes of the 2019 hospital or Stanton accreditation surveys at or in Yellowknife while they were going through that process. Thank you.
Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm just going to say at the outset, there are quite a large number of surveys that involve the nursing staff. There are these accreditation surveys my colleague has mentioned. I have also mentioned the exit surveys for people who have resigned this year as healthcare professionals, nurses in particular, and that the nurses professional association is doing a survey as well about issues that are leading to people's job dissatisfaction.
So to narrow this down to the accreditation survey, there were two of them conducted in connection with the accreditation. One is the Canadian Patient Safety Culture Survey and the other is Worklife Pulse Survey.
So for the Canadian Patient Safety Survey, the results show that the NTHSSA reported higher than the Canadian average in three of eight survey dimensions, and three dimensions scored within five percent of the Canadian average under the dimensions that the NTHSSA scored lower than the Canadian average. So this is not easy to understand as I read it out here. But what I think it says is that the Canadian Patient Safety Culture Survey gave us a reasonable rating where we were either above or on par in most areas.
The Worklife Pulse Survey reported higher than Canadian average results in four of seven survey dimensions. Having said that, the lowest score, compared to Canadian averages, was received for the health and safety of the work environment. So clearly, there was a flag in that survey that work needed to be done in that area. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that information. I think that there are, you know, a lot of discussions of surveys and collecting information.
And so my next question for the Minister is what were the outcomes that relate to staff morale and staffing issues at Stanton that came out of the surveys and were there any changes from the previous surveys or the exit interviews that were done that were able to be implemented at Stanton. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's my understanding that they took the information and made a communications plan to address the areas of weakness that were identified. As a result of that, they have biweekly allstaff updates; they have improved the use of internal communication platforms; they have promoted the use of internal feedback tools to receive questions and information from staff. I know there is sort of a suggestion box function now that people can use anonymously to point out issues and concerns. And it's my understanding that in fact these tools are heavily used, and that's been particularly the case during the COVID pandemic period. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. It's my understanding that some of the issues that we're hearing about are definitely persistent issues in a lot of our high stress shift work type environments within the GNWT. And so I guess I'm wondering what what information is management within Stanton expecting to hear from the current nursing survey that is different from the one that they've previously heard and how is this time going to be different. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have any information about the results of the surveys now underway. But I will say that they are being conducted almost three years later than the surveys I spoke about at the beginning of my answers. And so I think the operating environment has changed because of COVID and that the results will be different. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of these exit surveys. And we understand that there are ways that we can improve the work life of nurses at Stanton and on the obstetrics unit, we're hearing a lot about at the moment. And, you know, somebody has already said this today, and I've said it here as well, it is preferable to retain a nurse than recruit a nurse. It works better for all of us if we have someone who's already here, enjoys working in the North, has a family and life established here, to stay here, rather than feel that the working conditions are such that their preference is to move on, particularly because of the working conditions. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Given this Assembly's interest in not only recruiting but also, as the Minister states, retaining our healthcare workers in the Northwest Territories, I'm wondering if the Minister is willing to commit to sharing the results of that survey and also the responses from the Department of Health and Social Services to address them with this House. Thank you.
Yes, thank you. I understand that there's a health system human resources plan that's being finalized and my colleague, the Minister responsible for Human Resources has spoken about this, and the results of the surveys that I've spoken of will inform actions to improve the recruitment and retention of health care staff. I will in fact, share with the Standing Committee on Social Development the plan when it's complete and the summaries of the surveys when they're available. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document entitled Plain Language Summary for Bill 40: An Act to Amend the Medical Profession Act. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of Documents. Minister responsible for Environment and Natural Resources.
Thank you, Minister. Tabling of documents. Minister responsible for Justice.
Tabled Document 492-19(2):
Legal Aid Commission of the Northwest Territories Annual Report 2020-2021
Tabled Document 493-19(2):
Annual Report on the Activities of the Rental Officer April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents entitled Legal Aid Commission of the Northwest Territories Annual Report 20202021; and, Annual Report on the Activities of the Rental Officer April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I MOVE, seconded by the Honourable Member for Thebacha, that Committee Report 1719(2), Standing Committee on Government Operations Report of Review of Bills of Bill 23, an Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act; Committee Report 1819(2) Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report Review of Bill 24, an Act to Amend the Revolving Funds Act; Committee Report 1919(2) Standing Committee on Economic Development Environment Report on Review of Bill 29, Resource Royalty Information Disclosure Statute Amendment Act be received by the Assembly and moved into the Committee of the Whole for your consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Motion is in order. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed. Any abstentions. The motion is carried. These reports will be moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration.
Carried
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 40, an Act to Amend the Medical Profession Act, be read for the second time.
This bill amends the Medical Profession Act to allow a medical practitioner regulated in another province or territory to provide virtual care to patients in the Northwest Territories from a location outside the Northwest Territories. This may happen in the following ways:
An outofterritory practitioner may apply for registration in the virtual care register and be issued a virtual care permit;
An outofterritory practitioner may practice under a limited exception where they have received a referral from the NWT;
An outofterritory practitioner may practice under an agreement between the Minister and either the government or the regulatory of their home jurisdiction.
The bill makes the associated necessary changes to the act to facilitate these new methods of practice. The bill also adds a regulationmaking authority to authorize the establishment or adoption of standards, practice, code of ethics, continuing competency programs, and scope of practice frameworks and guidelines. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Motion is in order. To the principle of the bill. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe this is a number of things the department is doing to provide further virtual care to our residents. I just want to thank the Minister for bringing this forward.
During COVID, we made many steps in this direction, and now there seems to be a bit of a catchup to change some of the regulations, adopt the software, and really be a leader in this area. So I will gladly support this bill on second reading.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. To the principle of the bill.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed. Any abstentions. The motion is carried. Bill 40 has had second reading and is referred to a committee.
Carried
Colleagues, before I put you into Committee of the Whole, I'd like to wish the Member for Thebacha a Happy Birthday for tomorrow and invite you all to join me in the Great Hall for a small celebration. Happy birthday.
I now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Member for Frame Lake.
Thanks, Madam Chair. Committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 43719(2), Capital Estimates 20222023, and we'd like to consider the Department of Health and Social Services and Municipal and Community Affairs. Thanks, Madam Chair.
Agreed.
Thank you. Does committee agree? Thank you, committee. We will take a short break, and then we'll resume with the first item. Thank you.
SHORT RECESS
I'll call committee back to order. Committee, we've agreed to consider Tabled Document 43719(1) Capital Estimates 2020 or, sorry, 20222023. Committee, we will now consider the Department of Health and Social Services. Does the Minister of Health and Social Services wish to bring witnesses into the Chamber?
Yes, please.
SergeantatArms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Would the Minister please introduce her witnesses.
Yes. On my left is Derek Elkin, the assistant deputy minister for corporate services. And on my right is Perry Heath, the director of infrastructure and planning.
Thank you, welcome. The committee has agreed to forego general comments. Does committee agree to proceed to the detail contained in the document?
Agreed.
Committee, the Department of Health and Social Services begins on page 33. We'll defer the departmental totals and review the estimates by activity summary beginning on page 34 with administrative and support services with information items on page 35. Questions. Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm looking at about three and a half million dollars of various medical I really have no concern with what's presented here. My question is it was my understanding that we were looking to replace our electronic medical records system, and I believe that was quite a costly endeavor, and I don't see that here. Can the Minister just give an update as to what is going on with that process. Thank you.
Thank you, Member. Minister of Health and Social Services.
