Thank you, Madam Chair. I thank the Minister for that. There are certainly many issues at play here and I'd really like to know why nurses and why health care professionals are leaving in the numbers that they're leaving the territory in. They come here for a little while and they leave. I think we have to try to find out what the real problems are. Why are we losing nurses? Why are they coming here for a short period of time, turning around and leaving? Why do we lose nurses that have been here for a number of years? Why do they go south? Why do they seek other opportunities? What is it that we're missing here? I think that's the key component to this and I think the department has a problem on their hands. If the vacancy rate is 25 percent, as the Minister stated, we have to try to find out what's wrong. To me, I think conducting exit surveys on every health care professional that leaves the territory might get us some kind of indication on what that problem is and how we might be able to remedy it. I think the sooner that this type of work starts, the better off we'll be. I'd like to ask the Minister if he can direct his department to start questioning nurses that are leaving the North, other health care professionals that are leaving the North, tendering their resignations, moving on, why are they leaving? I think that's the big thing. So we have to start asking ourselves why are they leaving. Thank you, Madam Chair.
David Ramsay on Item 16: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on February 20th, 2006. See this statement in context.
Item 16: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Item 16: Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
February 19th, 2006
Page 1139
See context to find out what was said next.