Hiring in health care under control, says minister following Health P.E.I. resignation

The P.E.I. government is taking positive steps to ensure the province has the health care professionals it needs, says Health Minister Ernie Hudson in the wake of the resignation of Health P.E.I. board chair Derek Key.

Key resigned Dec. 31. He did not speak publicly, but a letter he wrote to Premier Dennis King on Dec. 6 became public last week. In it, he outlined his concerns about Health P.E.I.'s lack of independence from government. In particular, Key said Health P.E.I., not the Department of Health, should be in charge of hiring.

At the Health P.E.I. AGM in November, Key had complained about the sometimes months-long process of hiring.

No one from government had commented on the resignation, but Hudson was asked about it during a news conference on an unrelated matter Tuesday.

"The reasons that Derek gave for him stepping down at this point in time, I think as a department certainly we have to take a delve into them, to have those discussions, to review," said Hudson.

10-year projection of requirements

But the minister expressed confidence in the province's approach to hiring health care professionals.

With health care delivery changing, Hudson said, the province needs new tools to project who is going to be needed to deliver services on the Island.

"I'm anticipating by the end of this month, that we will have a module in place that will give us a projection, not only for the next one year, three years, five years, but for 10 years down the road as far as our [health human resource] requirements are going to be across the board," he said.

"As we move to make additions, changes, within the delivery of health care and the health-care system, it's of paramount importance to know what impact that's going to have, what our requirements are going to be going forward. To me, that is a very positive initiative."

Building up the health-care system is not just about hiring doctors anymore, Hudson noted. Other health care professionals, such as nurses and resident care workers, are also important.

Hudson also thanked Key for his work as the chair of the Health P.E.I. board.