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Oral
Questions
April 8, 2008
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, my questions
today are focused around the faulty ER-PR testing, and
the information that has been coming forward out of the
public inquiry and also from some of the responses that
the Premier gave in the House of Assembly yesterday.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday
the Premier stated that his government would never
deliberately hide information affecting the health of
the people of the Province, specifically related to
breast cancer. What the Premier fails to realize is that
this whole discussion is not about what the government
did; it is about what the government did not do. It is
about the lack of action that was taken by government in
disclosing information to the public.
Mr. Speaker, the former
minister, Minister Ottenheimer, claimed that their
government wanted the people to know. So I ask, Mr.
Speaker: Why did government
fail to respond to any media interviews or reports on
the issue, and deflect it all to Eastern Health, prior
to the spring of 2007?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, the matter was being dealt with by Eastern
Health. The department had decided, in its own wisdom,
that in fact Eastern Health were on the front line on
this. They were closest to it. It was a very technical
matter, and they were dealing with it.
Minister Ottenheimer has
indicated in his testimony that in fact he wished to go
public with it, but on the basis of medical advice that
he received, either through his department or otherwise
- I do not know exactly which medical advice or what
medical advice it was - had basically indicated that it
was in the best interest of the patients.
We cannot lose sight that
this is about the patients and their care and their
treatment. The other thing we cannot lose sight of is,
these problems arose, Mr. Speaker, from 1997 until they
were being dealt with in 2005. So the bulk of these had
already happened. Unfortunately, the cancer had
occurred. Unfortunately, the testing had occurred.
Unfortunately, the mistesting had occurred. So what
Minister Ottenheimer was dealing with was to try and
handle a very delicate and a very difficult situation,
and was dealing with medical professionals and taking
their advice in the best interests of the patients. So,
the first right is not the right of the public to know;
the first right is the right of the patient to know –
because it is about the patient. It is about their care,
it is about their health, their welfare, the stress and
duress that they are under.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
Before I recognize the
hon. member, I seek guidance from the House - and this
is the same line of questioning that was happening
yesterday, a very sensitive matter - are we going to
make it time sensitive or allow members free to give the
answers that they want to provide? I seek guidance.
The hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We suggest we revert to
the old rules and have timelines, that the Leader of the
Opposition ask her questions and the Premier answer in
the time allotted.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WILLIAMS: What
I will do under those circumstances, within the
timelines, if I cannot finish an answer to a question in
the timeline, I will continue that answer in response to
the next question.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: With
all due respect, Mr. Speaker, it is not the prerogative
of the Premier to decide. If he is asked a question, he
is going to answer. The people will judge whether he
answered it or not.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, my question today is about when government knew
what they knew, and why they failed to act in disclosing
the information to the public.
I understand yesterday
the Premier talked about the fear and anxiety that this
would cause in patients. I think we have seen the
tremendous amount of fear and anxiety over the course of
this particular ordeal.
Mr. Speaker, let me
remind the Premier of what his minister said on May 15
of last year. The current Minister of Health stated in a
media scrum outside of the House: I understand and
appreciate the dilemma that Eastern Health have found
themselves in trying to balance their responsibility to
the patients who needed a change in treatment and a
responsibility to protecting the interest of the
organization in the event of litigation.
I ask the Premier: With
everything that you stated in the House yesterday, do
you feel that your minister’s comments were
appropriate in this case?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I am glad the member
opposite got the location right. Yesterday she cited as
my having said it in this House.
I will ask the member, if
she is going to use a media clip, that she put it in
some context. I think my comment to the media last year
- and there was some comment before that and some
comment that followed that quote, but - it was in the
context of information shared by Eastern Health in
December 2006. I was commenting on something that they
had done, not commenting on government’s position, not
commenting on my personal opinion about what should or
should not be done. My comment was around why they did
what they did, and that was the nature of the question
that I was responding to.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, my question was to the Premier and it was very
clear: Do you think the minister’s comments were
appropriate in light of this situation?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, I have the benefit - or detriment, for that
matter - of being trained as a lawyer, so the way I
would look at things and the way that people who are not
lawyers look at things is completely different. I have
the benefit of that training, so I understand the legal
implications. I can certainly state categorically though
that anybody, whether it happened to be the hon.
minister or it happened to be officials in departments,
are concerned about litigation. They are concerned
because they do not understand it. They do not
understand the consequences.
I can tell you from this
government’s perspective, and I demonstrated very
clearly that the memo that was present when you were in
Cabinet and when your government was in office, which
was a Dr. Ejeckam memo, back in 2003, I tabled that
before this House at the earliest available opportunity.
As well, while your government was in office that
laboratory was closed down for five weeks, but I will
also state for the record, I do not blame you, or I do
not blame the Grimes government, or I do not blame the
Cabinet for that. This is not about a blame exercise.
What we are trying to do with it, as a government, is
deal with a very, very complex problem and find
solutions to make sure that this does not happen again
to the best of our ability.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier, again, is
trying to deflect the issue and politicize it and that
is not going to stop us from asking the questions,
Premier.
The first account of this
issue known in the Department of Health was under your
government in July of 2005. That is the facts.
Let me ask this question,
Mr. Speaker. The Premier stated yesterday that he could
not recall whether senior staff in his office briefed
him on the ER-PR testing issue in July of 2005. So I ask
the Premier: Have you since
asked your staff, did they brief you at that time or did
they not?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: I
have had that conversation with my staff, and council
for the commission has also had that conversation with
my staff when my staff were interviewed by Mr. Coffey at
the commission and we willing went down and undertook
those interviews. Quite frankly, my staff and myself do
not remember a conversation.
Now, I will repeat it
again. That does not mean it did not happen. I have
thousands and thousands, as you do, conversations in the
course of a year and some of them cannot be remembered.
I can tell you something, if there is something of major
importance that was put before my staff and presented as
a major issue and then was presented to me, I would
certainly remember it, but I certainly cannot remember
it. I can tell you that the practice of my staff, who
are extremely professional, when critical matters come
into that office to our attention, then they come to my
attention. This particular note that came in on that day
at 2:30 in the afternoon said that this matter required
no action.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, I would have thought that someone in the
Premier’s office, if they had been told that the
health of thousands of people in this Province was
impacted by something that was happening in our
hospitals, that someone at the senior level at least
would remember if they had a conversation with him or
not.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday
the Premier indicted that it was too early to assign
blame but I think the first blame has been inflicted in
this issue by him and his government, when you decided
to fire the former CEO of Eastern Health, the former
Deputy Minister of Health, and both of these people were
let go and related to this issue.
I ask the Premier: Is
that not considered accountable actions to these
individuals and assigning blame?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS:
I have had enough, Mr. Speaker. For this person
opposite, the Leader of the Opposition, to try and
assign blame to this government for what happened to
cancer patients who were improperly tested by a testing
procedure, whether the procedure that was in practice
before we came into office was wrong, because in April
of 2004 when we were in office a new procedure was put
in place which detected the problem. You are now trying
to lay the blame for those patients and their situation
and the consequences of mistesting on this government
for something that happened between 1997 and 2004, is
nothing but political games and it is shameful.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier may want to
divert the issue. He is the one who said yesterday about
assigning blame. There are two top civil servants in
this Province who have been dismissed related to this
issue. I am just asking the questions, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we asked
yesterday about the conflict position that Robert
Thompson, the former Deputy Minister of Health, and the
Clerk of the Executive Council have been placed in by
acting as the government liaison to the Commission of
Inquiry. We are not insinuating that Mr. Thompson is not
qualified for the job, however, he has been subpoenaed
to appear at the Commission and has been directly
involved in the process, as has been shown in
documentation tabled with the Commission. Those are
facts.
I ask the Premier: Will
you remove Mr. Thompson from his position as the
government liaison to the Commission of Inquiry knowing
that he has been subpoenaed to testify?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS:
So we will throw some dung at Mr. Ottenheimer and we
will throw some bung at the Premier and we will throw
some dung at Mr. Abbott and we will throw some dung at
the rest of them, Mr. Tilley, and now we are going to
try and smear Robert Thompson. Well, shame on you! You
worked with that gentleman. I have to tell you, and I
said it yesterday, he is singularly, in my opinion, in
our opinion as a government, the best person to have in
that position right now in the best interest of the
public.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS:
You know, I gave the Leader of the Opposition credit for
more, taking the high road. You mentioned to me in the
weeks before we adjourned, there was an issue came up in
the House about deaf children not getting treatment
within three years. I immediately, as soon as Question
Period was over, walked over and said if that is true,
we are going to deal with that. That is the way I
operate. That is the way I was hoping she was going to
operate, but you are no different than the rest of them.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
First of all, I am going
to say to the Premier, he can go on the offensive all he
likes. He can spend the whole afternoon. It is not going
to deter me from asking the questions. The fact of the
matter is, is this has nothing to do with the character
of Robert Thompson. It has to do with the fact that the
man is acting in the interest of the government,
providing information from government departments to
this commission and has been subpoenaed to testify as
part of the commission. Isn’t
he not in a conflict of interest? Even good people,
Premier, are in a conflict of interest on occasion.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, our goal is to get the best possible result for
patients in this Province. We called that inquiry to get
to the bottom of it. We wanted to find out what went
wrong. Yes, hon. members opposite asked for the inquiry
but we did not have to call the inquiry. We called the
inquiry and it was to get the answers. Then what we do
in order to try and get to the bottom of it, we put the
best possible people in place. We have a head of the
Commission of Inquiry down there, Madam Justice Cameron,
who is an exemplary individual. Now, if she went to a
doctor, is she in conflict? Is that what you are saying?
If anybody has had any exposure with the medical system,
are they in conflict? Madam Justice Cameron worked for
the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador at one point
in time, is she in conflict? How do we get anybody with
any expertise to act in a manner so that they can advise
or make decisions on the basis of their expertise to be
involved in a process that ultimately will lead to
better patient care and diagnosis and save lives?
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, this is a complete deflection from the issue. What
we are asking is if you want to be open with the people,
give the inquiry the right to use a process that is
independent of government to search for the information
pertinent to the inquiry and not have government
managing the release of its own information. Will you
agree to that Premier?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, the hon. member opposite is implying the
conspiracy theory, that there is some act of government
here, some intention by government here to hide: We are
going to try and hide all this information, and if we
can get Robert Thompson or somebody else to pluck out
something, then we can hide it! We have nothing to worry
about, we have nothing to hide. We have acted throughout
this in the best interests of the people of Newfoundland
and Labrador overall, and also the patients, more
importantly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: We
have done absolutely everything to the best of our
ability with good intention. We are not trying to hide
any information. Why would we try and get Robert
Thompson, a very ethical individual, to put himself in a
position where he is in conflict of interest and he is
going to do something wrong? By saying that, you are
implying he would do it and we would ask him to do it.
Nothing is further from the truth.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, I don’t know why the Premier is getting so
upset over a few questions if he has nothing to hide. We
are asking for an independent process for the Inquiry to
access information through government departments.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
Premier: Who are the other
members of the government Cameron Inquiry liaison team
besides Mr. Thompson?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: I
could be wrong in this. I can’t tell you the
government liaison team. The only person who I would be
involved with would be Rolf Pritchard who is government
counsel, and Mr. Thompson.
Now, as a result of the
review committee that he has been set up to head, he has
his own staff there. The people who would be liaising
with government, for want of a better term, I would
think would be Mr. Thompson and Rolf Pritchard. I stand
to be corrected on that, because that is not something I
have even looked at.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Premier.
Premier, yesterday you
stated in response to a question from the Leader of the
Opposition – and it is on page 248 of Hansard, and I
quote – "I do not think I have formally received
a subpoena but I have certainly been asked to testify
and have actually, in fact, appeared before commission
counsel three months ago and gave them my full testimony
at the time."
For
the sake of clarity, have you or have you not received a
subpoena to appear before the Cameron Inquiry, and if
not are you prepared to appear before the Inquiry if
requested?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The reason I said I
hadn’t received a subpoena, not knowing whether I had
or not - because as you know I would have to be served
with a subpoena. I have not been served with a subpoena.
What I didn’t know is whether the Department of
Justice had accepted a subpoena service on my behalf. My
understanding is they have not, I have not had any
communication.
Simple answer: No, I have
not been served with a subpoena. The answer to the
second question, would I attend and provide testimony
before the Cameron Inquiry: Absolutely!
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
You also indicated, in
response to the Leader of the Opposition’s question
yesterday, which I quoted from, that you appeared before
the Commission counsel three months ago and gave them
your full testimony at that time. Can
you tell us when it was you appeared and who it was you
spoke with at that incident, three months ago?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: I
cannot tell you what day it was, it was about three
months ago. I think it was early in January, if I
remember correctly, I do not have the date. I was asked
to appear by Mr. Coffey and Ms Chaytor, who were counsel
for the Commission, and counsel was with me at that
particular point in time.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, to my knowledge at
least, it is the first time anyone in the Province knew
or was aware that the Premier had had any interaction
with the Commission, was based on his statement of
yesterday. That is why I am asking these questions for
clarity.
I say to the members, we
know quite well that this government only answers
questions that they are asked. We found that out from
Mr. Ottenheimer last week.
Premier, to clarify this
issue again, of this meeting that took place three
months ago. You used the word testimony. Did
you actually give testimony under oath at this meeting
three months ago to Ms Chaytor and Mr. Coffey? Was it
recorded?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Sorry,
Mr. Speaker.
Testimony is a term that
I used. No, it was not recorded, it was not under oath.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you.
For the record again and
clarity, regarding this meeting three months ago, were
you asked by counsel to appear, or did you volunteer to
go meet with them? How did the meeting come about?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WILLIAMS: I
do not know. I think the request came from counsel to
ask me to go down and discuss the issue with them, with
a view to providing testimony. I did not have a direct
conversation, to my recollection, at all with counsel,
with regard to going down and appearing, and I think it
probably came through Rolf Pritchard at the Department
of Justice, I would think so.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you.
Premier,
how many current or former members of your staff, to
your knowledge, have been issued subpoenas compelling
their testimony at the inquiry, and would you undertake,
they being your staff members, to table copies of those
subpoenas in the House?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WILLIAMS: I
have not discussed with all my staff as to whether they
have been subpoenaed or not, so we can certainly find
out who has been subpoenaed and who has not been
subpoenaed (inaudible) and table it.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: I
did not get the Premier’s answer whether they would
table those subpoenas in the House.
Premier,
how many and which current or former members of the
civil service have been issued subpoenas compelling
their testimony at the inquiry? Will the Premier
undertake to have those subpoenas tabled here in the
House?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, I can tell you that we will now seriously
consider, as a government, whether we will continue to
answer questions on that inquiry. We are going to go to
the inquiry now and we are going to seek direction. I
ask the Minister of Justice to go to the inquiry and
seek direction as to how far we can go in this House
with regard to the details of the inquiry and subpoenas
and what is proper procedure and what is right and what
is wrong because, as I said yesterday, there is a
process that is going on here. So I qualify my answer to
you on tabling subpoenas. We will take direction from
the inquiry on this.
This is about letting
this inquiry go its full process. We cannot usurp the
authority of that commissioner down there and we cannot
start to try and make decisions here in this House of
Assembly as a result of this kind of questioning as to
what people in the civil service have received
subpoenas. I will get a directory out tonight and I will
phone everybody in the civil service and I will ask them
if they haven’t, and if I am allowed to give you the
information, then I will.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
With all due respect to
the Premier, I mean it is up to him what he will or will
not answer, I realize that, but we are certainly at
liberty to ask the questions. I would say that anything
I have asked here, by the way, has nothing to do with
substantive testimony being given to an inquiry. I have
simply asked questions of the gentleman, the Premier of
this Province, who stood up here yesterday and talked
about taking full responsibility, some pretty simple
questions. You are the head of this government. Who in
your government, ministers, or who you have control over
as the government in a civil service, have been
subpoenaed? Now I am not asking you what they said. I am
not interfering with what they said to the inquiry. Can
you, or don’t you know, or is this a case again that
you do not know? What is the answer?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, this is about the patients. This is about
finding solutions to problems that are life-threatening
problems. The hon. member opposite asked me if I know
who in the civil service has been subpoenaed. I do not
know. There are 30,000 people in the civil service. I
have not talked to them all recently. I do not know. Why
don’t you get serious and zero in on the issues that
are important to the people of this Province, the
victims out there who are now being jockeyed around with
political gains and political football and I am being
used to deflect questions. I am answering questions. You
put them and I will answer them.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
The hon. the Opposition
House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Premier does not have
to lecture me about who is affected by this and the
impacts. I have friends and I have people who come to me
as constituents who are very much involved in this issue
and they have a right to questions being asked and
answers being given.
I say to the Premier
again, maybe I will ask you something - you do not know
about the 30,000 people who you are in control of and
whether they have been subpoenaed. That is a very simple
thing to find out, I would think. Maybe this one is a
little closer to home.
Your
Social Policy Committee of Cabinet, did they ever
discuss this issue? That is your Committee, of your
Cabinet, did they ever discuss the ER-PR issue, and
when?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WILLIAMS:
Mr. Speaker, I am not on the Social Policy Committee. I
am not aware of a discussion.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I have a question. I am
looking for some clarification from the Premier with
regard to a response that he gave yesterday when he said
that the Cabinet did not discuss the faculty ER-PR
testing until the spring of 2007, but yesterday, after
reading documents tabled by the Commission of Inquiry,
they tabled them yesterday, I noted a Cabinet directive
November 4, 2005, Cabinet Secretariat note November 2,
2005, and a confidential memorandum to the Executive
Council October 26, 2005. All of these were concerning
the funding of new cancer drugs.
The memo had included
with it a communications plan and analysis that
describes the fallout or bad press of the faulty hormone
testing and all of these documents are being tabled as
being linked together.
MR. SPEAKER:
Order, please!
I ask the member to pose
her question.
MS MICHAEL:
A question coming up, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Premier, what I am
asking is: Would not the content of all of those
documents have been shared with Cabinet and been part of
their discussion as they made a decision about spending
$2 million on -
MR. SPEAKER:
Order please!
The hon. the Premier.
PREMIER WILLIAMS:
What I will do is I will take those dates and notes
under advisement and go back and check the record. It is
my understanding you are saying it is related to
approval of drugs, cancer treatment drugs?
MS MICHAEL: Yes.
PREMIER WILLAIMS: Okay,
I will check that. I can provide the information, or if
you wish to ask the question again tomorrow, then I will
respond.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL:
Yes, I will ask the question tomorrow and I imagine the
Premier will have an answer for me. Thank you very much,
Mr. Premier.
My next question, Mr.
Speaker, is for the Minister of Health and Community
Services.
One of the major concerns
of the Commission of Inquiry is the maintenance of
quality control for hormone receptor testing. Last year
we were told, and we know, that there is quality control
testing ongoing, and the control would be to send a
random cross-section of the test to Mount Sinai for
sampling.
Could the minister now
please give to this House an update on how those quality
control measures are proceeding to ensure the
reliability of hormone testing in the lab in this
Province? It has been a while since there has been an
update publicly, I think.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I understand it, these
quality control tests are still being carried out. The
results of those, I do not have that level of detail
with me but I will undertake to provide it to the member
opposite.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quid Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As a direct follow-up, I
wonder if the minister, then, would include in the
report that he will bring to us the latest rate of
concurrence of the Mount Sinai reports with the testing
that is ongoing here in our own lab?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: What
I can undertake, Mr. Speaker, is that any quality
control tests that are being carried out in the ER-PR
lab at Eastern Health, and the results of those quality
controls, I will be able to table those when I get them
from Eastern Health.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Health.
I have been informed that
in the last two nights there have been fourteen patients
admitted to the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s,
who have had to spend the night in the ER on stretchers;
and, while some of them were found rooms yesterday,
other patients were admitted and again there were
fourteen patients on stretchers last night. I have been
told that this is because of a shortage of beds, and
that there are beds at the Health Sciences Centre that
are not in use right now.
I ask
the minister if that is the case, and if he is aware of
the problem.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I do understand, Mr.
Speaker, that in recent days there has been some
pressure in the emergency department because of
increased activity and there have been some pressures on
beds, acute care beds.
The other part of the
question with respect to whether or not there are beds
within Eastern Health or within the Health Sciences
Centre that are vacant, that is a piece of information I
do not have. I do have an understanding, as I said, that
they have been extremely busy in recent days and there
have been some bed pressures on the acute side, and it
is because of some increased activity not just in terms
of the emergency department but increased activity with
acutely ill patients from the in-patient perspective as
well, Mr. Speaker.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition, time for a quick
question.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I would like to ask the
minister if he could look into the fact that there may
be beds closed. I have been told there have been some
units closed down, that there are beds that are not in
use, and it is due to a shortage of staff being
available to look after the patients being admitted into
those beds. I ask if he could
check that out and report back to me, please.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: By
all means, Mr. Speaker. Anything that I can find out for
the hon. member, I would be only too glad to do so.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The time for question and
answer period has expired. |
