Lesa Semmler

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, alongside with the CEO and the deputy minister as well as the COO of Stanton, had a town hall for Stanton staff so not -- we did not have one with the Yellowknife region as of yet which the primary care falls under. What we heard were a lot of operational issues. We also heard a lot of, you know, even just internal how, like, funding for different things within. We did hear leave, you know, and that's where the commitment was made to review the policy. You know, there is a sense of frustration, and I acknowledge that, and so what we are taking away from...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, those employees that are unionized employees, they have -- you know, when they apply for leave, it is the expectation that as the employer that they do follow the collective agreement, so 18.02-2(2) does speak to that. And so it gives them two weeks to respond to any employee that puts in leave. And if there are scheduling needs that need to be done in this advance, that those employers notify the union and that those -- they still have to have a set date as to when leave is put in and they still have to follow a two-week, and they have to respond in...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within the health care system, there are areas where health practitioners have to provide 24-hour care and within that health care system, those practitioners, nurses, you know, they fall under, you know, unionized employees and they are allotted time based on their years of service. So the longer employees have way more time. You know, and we've heard -- and I know we have -- there is an acknowledgement within the health authority that within that 24-hour care model that sometimes it's unfortunate but that not everybody can access all of their leaves due...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during my time as the Minister so far within this year, you know, we have excellent staff, you know, and, yes, they are -- they are tired and, yes, there are, you know, very -- not just at Stanton. In the regions, you know, you most recently hear about in the regions we have, you know, obstetrics closures, we have nursing stations that are on emergency services. And so what we're -- you know, like, what we're trying to do is we're looking at it as a whole of territory because as I said in the very beginning, this is a whole of territory issue, and Stanton...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, that level of information on record moving is very operational. And right now what we do know, and I have mentioned it in this house before, that our systems do not communicate with Alberta where a lot of our referrals go. So there is, you know, work going on right now to -- and I mentioned it in previous sessions that we are looking to upgrade the EMR, electronic medical records system, within the Northwest Territories. And with all of those options that have been raised by Members have been highlighted as things that we need to ensure that when...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, you know, I can commit to having that conversation again with the NTHSSA of what their practice is. I am not familiar of how long contracts are, if they're -- you know, I mean, in the past, you know, the only time I've ever seen a short enough contract in my time working in the health authority was within, you know, maybe over Christmas so that we didn't have to shut down services so maybe a two or three-week contract. But, you know, as the -- as it is now, we are struggling with staffing. And whether Members in this House or anywhere, you know, we don...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this issue has been on the books now and on the radar since -- you know, it's more -- it more happened more so when the lab changes happened that we do not have the technology within the hospital that allows for calls to be in queue and all that. And so there is work going on between -- NTHSSA is working with -- I think it's Infrastructure or TSC -- to ensure that this issue is being rectified. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, this conversation that has come up in the House, it came up yesterday and, you know, and it has -- many people come within our system and, you know, we are doing exit interviews to find out why and we are using the data to change the way that, you know, we're engaging with staff or retention. So what I can say is that I don't get notified whenever there's a health care person or a doctor within the whole Northwest Territories that is hired or has left, you know, and so therefore if the Member wants to know, I -- like, I was willing to share with...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as that is very operational questions, I -- you know, that is the first time I've heard that issue so that would be something that they -- I would recommend them to be raising with the COO and the CEO. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the department we have not been focusing on advancing these areas but, however, the work will be done in the future to determine what resources would be required to move them forward. And just so that the Member is aware, that the work that has been -- they've been doing is to be established and, like, they've updated the work plan that's been drafted and they've also begun to develop policies and processes. So there's things that have been going on behind the scenes to be able to roll out and work on those 12 recommendations that they have approved, and...