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Speaker 1: Joining me on the line right now is the Minister

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Speaker 1: for Tourism and Health, Natasha Files.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, and territories love those tourism vouchers. It

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Speaker 3: took two minutes and nine seconds for them to be

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Speaker 3: snapped up. But don't panish if you're on the weight list.

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Speaker 3: We did see everybody in the previous round allocated a

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Speaker 3: voucher that was weightlisted.

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Speaker 1: So two minutes and nine seconds and exactly how many

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Speaker 1: vouchers was that?

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Speaker 3: So that was fourteen thousand vouchers and we saw in

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Speaker 3: total forty thousand people registered for vouchers.

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Speaker 1: So what's going to happen to all of those people

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Speaker 1: that weren't able to get their hands on a voucher.

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Speaker 1: I understand that they're now on a wait list.

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Speaker 3: Yes, Katie. So people that were successful in getting a

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Speaker 3: voucher will receive those vouchers later this week. They've got

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Speaker 3: two weeks to make their booking with one of our

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Speaker 3: tourism organizations, the Peak Bodies Tourism top Ends for example.

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Speaker 3: Then once the vouchers, people start to redeem them and

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Speaker 3: they might not used a full allocation, or they might

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Speaker 3: not travel further than the four hundred kilometers and be

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Speaker 3: eligible for the two hundred dollars bonus. We start to

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Speaker 3: see those next people that are on the weight list

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Speaker 3: issued with vouchers, and as I said, everybody in the

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Speaker 3: previous round ended up with a voucher in the end.

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Speaker 3: But this is a really wonderful program to support tourism

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Speaker 3: and hospitality operators who continue to be hard hit by

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Speaker 3: their global pandemic.

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Speaker 1: And were there any teething issues last night? I know

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Speaker 1: in the past we have had some teething issues. Was

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Speaker 1: that the case last night?

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Speaker 3: That was a very polite way of you putting that, Katie. No,

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Speaker 3: thanks to our IC people. They worked really hard. We

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Speaker 3: did see previous rounds the systems not cope with all

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Speaker 3: those territories. But last night the system, as far as

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Speaker 3: I'm aware, worked really well. I jumped on and had

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Speaker 3: a look and so thanks to those IT people for

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Speaker 3: making sure that people didn't have to get frustrated. And

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Speaker 3: if you are on the weight list, still plan your adventure.

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Speaker 3: If you haven't registered, head along and make sure you

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Speaker 3: get your name on the weight list, because chances are

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Speaker 3: you will get a vouchers.

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Speaker 1: So two minutes and nine seconds than to snap up

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Speaker 1: all fourteen thousand of those vouchers.

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Speaker 3: Is that a record, Katie, I'm not sure I think

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Speaker 3: it would be. We saw thirty thousand unique page views

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Speaker 3: in the first five minutes, so that's a lot of Territorians.

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Speaker 3: And as I just said, it's really about supporting an industry.

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Speaker 3: The government provided five million dollars for the vouchers and

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Speaker 3: we will allocate all of that to the industry. So

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Speaker 3: if you didn't get a voucher, or you get on

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Speaker 3: the wait list, but it's really about getting out supporting

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Speaker 3: that industry, particularly if we're heading to the wet season

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Speaker 3: in the North and that the summer in Central Australia.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's move along and talk about the health situation.

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Speaker 1: We know that health staff have been in contact with

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Speaker 1: the station with serious concerns about staffing levels in emergency

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Speaker 1: at the Palmerston Regional Hospital. How many beds are now

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Speaker 1: operational at this point out at the Palmerston Hospital emergency department.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, it's a twenty four bed emergency department facility

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Speaker 3: and advised that are all twenty four beds are operational now.

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Speaker 3: That could have changed this morning and I haven't been

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Speaker 3: fully updated, but it's a twenty four bed facility, and

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Speaker 3: as we did see last week, from time to time

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Speaker 3: not all the beds of staff. But it's not something

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Speaker 3: that happens regularly.

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Speaker 1: But your understanding is as of this morning, all twenty

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Speaker 1: four of those beds are back to being operational.

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Speaker 3: Correct. I don't have advice to the difference of that,

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Speaker 3: and Katie, we certainly acknowledge. Recruitment's been a challenge for

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Speaker 3: all health organizations and we've put in place and active

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Speaker 3: plans to ensure that we can see the fast tracking

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Speaker 3: of nurses and health staff into our system.

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Speaker 1: Well, I will get to that, but I do want

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Speaker 1: to ask, I mean, at this point in time, do

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Speaker 1: you have the staff that you actually need to realistically

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Speaker 1: keep the Palmeston Emergency operating.

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Speaker 3: The Katie staff for health is always a challenge. We

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Speaker 3: always have recruitment open and so Katie, we certainly are

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Speaker 3: working and as I just mentioned, we're fast working with

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Speaker 3: the Commonwealth around visas for some people growing our own workforce.

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Speaker 3: So there's a number of measures in place as well

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Speaker 3: as is invented to get people working in Mt Health.

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Speaker 1: Well, on that note, we have obviously spoken at length

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Speaker 1: about the issues that we're seeing within the health system

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Speaker 1: when it comes to those nursing staff. Particularly last week

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Speaker 1: on the show The Nursing with Reunion revealed up to

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Speaker 1: one hundred workers would be required from overseas to fill

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Speaker 1: job shortages which are being experienced.

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Speaker 2: You confirm that.

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Speaker 1: This is being considered as an option, but nurses have

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Speaker 1: told three p sixty that there's no time for considering

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Speaker 1: this plan. It needs to happen immediately, and that is

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Speaker 1: exactly what we heard from the AMA's doctor Robert Parker yesterday.

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Speaker 2: Take a listen.

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Speaker 4: We need them now, We need them, you know. That's

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Speaker 4: why I so we probably need to if we can

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Speaker 4: get mango pickers over here to pick mangoes, which is

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Speaker 4: excellent of course for the farmers, we need a similar

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Speaker 4: bubble to get nursing staff from trained nursing staff, you know,

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Speaker 4: who are properly qualified and credentials here as soon as possible.

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Speaker 1: So Minister, have those plans progressed since we spoke on Friday.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, we've been working closely with Commonwealth government constructively,

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Speaker 3: and I have written to the Commonwealth seeking support to

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Speaker 3: fast trusts of visa approvals for overseas doctors, nurses, and

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Speaker 3: midwife along with Allied Health to help us build those gaps.

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Speaker 3: We're aiming, as I said to you on Friday, we

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Speaker 3: need about fifty to seventy stuff. They're mainly in the emergency,

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Speaker 3: post operative and psychiatric care. But we certainly have got

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Speaker 3: a recruitment campaign. Health have been really focused on this

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Speaker 3: over the last few weeks and I'm advised that we

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Speaker 3: are seeing some success and we're working with the Commonwealth

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Speaker 3: to make sure those people get visas to enter the country.

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Speaker 1: So at this point in time, how many have we recruited.

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Speaker 3: I don't have the exact figure, Kadian and.

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Speaker 1: Help in the tens in the twenties. I mean, are

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Speaker 1: we literally like, are we talking in the tens the twenties,

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Speaker 1: Because from what I'm hearing from nurses within the health

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Speaker 1: system right now, we can't afford to still be in

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Speaker 1: that planning process. They are wanting to know where we're

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Speaker 1: at now in terms of how many nurses we've actually recruited.

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Speaker 3: Katie, We're always actively recruiting nurses in the health It's

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Speaker 3: a constant cycle. We have people that join the team

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Speaker 3: and we have people for various reasons that leave, and

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Speaker 3: so I'm advised that there has been work particularly looking

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Speaker 3: at the overseas gaps United Kingdom, India and New Zealand,

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Speaker 3: and we're working with the Commonwealth to get them the

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Speaker 3: appropriate visas so that they can enter the territory.

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Speaker 1: But we don't have any idea at this point in

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Speaker 1: time how many have actually been recruited.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, it's not a matter of we're constantly recruiting.

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Speaker 3: So every week we have new people that join our team,

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Speaker 3: but we also have people that leave the team.

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Speaker 2: Okay.

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Speaker 1: In recent months, we know that in Western Australia, for example,

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Speaker 1: they announced that they'd be offering eight thousand dollars for

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Speaker 1: flights and relocation costs, and they'd also be covering the

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Speaker 1: bill for two weeks mandatory hotel quarantine. We know that

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Speaker 1: it is going to be difficult realistically for us to

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Speaker 1: get those good skilled nurses, doctors, as you'd said, all

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Speaker 1: of those different healthcare professionals here to the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Are we going to be offering any kind of incentives

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Speaker 1: because realistically there are other states now that seem to

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Speaker 1: be well and truly ahead of us.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, recruiting health staff is always competitive, and so

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Speaker 3: we do offer packages. We do work with individuals around

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Speaker 3: their relocation needs. If quarantine is a factor, we certainly

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Speaker 3: can cover those costs. So we look at the qualifications

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Speaker 3: they're bringing, the roles they will be filling, and certainly

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Speaker 3: work with them around the best incentives to attract them

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Speaker 3: to the territory.

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Speaker 1: So what are we offering those that we're trying to

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Speaker 1: recruit at the moment from overseas.

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Speaker 3: So there's a range of packages, Katie, that are offered,

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Speaker 3: and they depend on the skill set and the role

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Speaker 3: that someone will fill, and they vary quite greatly. Sometimes

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Speaker 3: we relocate people here and their families, so that'll include airfares,

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Speaker 3: transportation of their personal items. Other times they might come

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Speaker 3: in on shorter term contract. There's a range of measures

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Speaker 3: that are put in place to ensure that the territory

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Speaker 3: is competitive in attracting these staff. And we're also open

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Speaker 3: to different ideas and help directly recruit, working with the

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Speaker 3: Office of Public Employment starts to come into the health system.

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Speaker 1: So when do you anticipate that you are going to

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Speaker 1: have those fifty two seventy staff.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, as I said, it's not a matter we

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Speaker 3: can recruit seventy people in the next three or four weeks,

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Speaker 3: but we might have people that leave the organizations for

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Speaker 3: various reasons. So we're constantly recruiting into these roles, and

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Speaker 3: we are always actively in encouraging people. We work with

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Speaker 3: graduates with the graduate programs to get people, so we're

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Speaker 3: always open to different ideas and putting different things in

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Speaker 3: place to attract staff within the health system.

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Speaker 2: Well, let's be really blunt about it.

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Speaker 1: I mean, cav Hatcher said on the show last week,

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Speaker 1: we need one hundred nurses, you know, as.

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Speaker 2: Quickly as possible.

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Speaker 1: Doctor Robert Parker said on the show yesterday that we

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Speaker 1: need them immediately. I'm speaking to nurses off air who

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Speaker 1: are saying that we need them immediately. So with the

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Speaker 1: utmost respect, I think to say that we're constantly recruiting

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Speaker 1: is maybe a little bit laxed.

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Speaker 2: We need to realistically, by.

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Speaker 1: The sounds of what they're saying, be going on a

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Speaker 1: full blown recruitment campaign to make sure that we can

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Speaker 1: get these nurses here sooner rather than later.

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Speaker 3: Katie. That's what we're doing when I say we're con recruiting.

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Speaker 3: If there is somebody that is qualified and we have

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Speaker 3: you know that they're appropriate to work in our system,

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Speaker 3: we will recruit them.

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Speaker 1: So you can't tell us how many you've actually recruited,

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Speaker 1: or you can't actually give us any numbers in terms

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Speaker 1: of how quickly you're anticipating that they're going to arrive.

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Speaker 1: I mean, these are the kind of questions that are

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Speaker 1: being asked by the Nurses Union, by the AMA buy

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Speaker 1: nurses out there right now who really need that support

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Speaker 1: and want more staff in those emergency departments.

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Speaker 3: Katie, I'm not sure how more I can explain it.

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Speaker 3: We need fifty to seventy nurses in those three key

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Speaker 3: areas that I just described to you. We also have

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Speaker 3: a constant recruitment campaign. It's not like a job is

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Speaker 3: advertised and people have to get an application in. We

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Speaker 3: have clinical nurse managers that can access resumes and can

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Speaker 3: get people into roles going through the appropriate processes. Mind you,

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Speaker 3: we mustn't shortcut that, but we are constantly open to

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Speaker 3: recruiting and attracting new people into nursing.

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Speaker 1: So how many of those fifty to seventy nurses have

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Speaker 1: you recruited?

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, I've just explained it to you, and I

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Speaker 3: can't keep repeating myself. We are constantly right now, recruitment

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Speaker 3: is open for nursing for anyone that is qualified coming

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Speaker 3: into those positions.

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Speaker 1: Can you understand how people listening this morning though, would

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Speaker 1: be thinking that It's one thing to say that you

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Speaker 1: are constantly recruiting, but you're not actually able to say

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Speaker 1: how many you've recruited.

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Speaker 3: Katie, I've answered the question. I'm not sure I can

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Speaker 3: answer it anymore.

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Speaker 1: But you actually have it. You haven't told us how

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Speaker 1: many people have been recruited.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, I've just said to you, we believe we

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Speaker 3: need fifty to seventy nurses in three categories as well

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Speaker 3: as of course other nurses. We have applications open and

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Speaker 3: there's nothing more that I can say to that than

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Speaker 3: we understand the issue of nurses is so important and

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Speaker 3: our staff are the key and we're always actively recruiting.

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Speaker 3: The process is our clinical nurse managers, so they head

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Speaker 3: up for different divisions, so maternity for example, ED psychiatrics.

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Speaker 3: They have access to a range of resumes, so if

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Speaker 3: somebody is interested in coming to the territory, they can

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Speaker 3: do that online, they can forward it. Those clinical nurse

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Speaker 3: managers can look at those resumes and if I believe

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Speaker 3: someone is acceptable and would be great in a position.

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Speaker 3: They can then work with human resources within the Department

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Speaker 3: of Health to make sure that everything is checked and balanced,

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Speaker 3: and then we can offer them a package. So it

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Speaker 3: is always open. It's not like a job perhaps in

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Speaker 3: another area where a job is identified, it goes through

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Speaker 3: a process. Applications are open. We constantly take nurses into

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Speaker 3: our system.

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Speaker 2: All right.

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Speaker 1: We have had quite a few concerns raised yesterday by

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Speaker 1: nurse graduates as well. I'm sure that this is something

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Speaker 1: that you've probably been spoken to about, because I know

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Speaker 1: that cath Hatch has raised it with us as well.

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Speaker 1: So we basically received a message as well yesterday from

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Speaker 1: one of our nurse graduates. She said that she's spent

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Speaker 1: the last four years studying her Bachelor of Nursing with

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Speaker 1: Charles Darwin University. It took her an extra year to

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Speaker 1: finish because of not being able to complete those practical

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Speaker 1: side of things, partly because of COVID, but mostly because

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Speaker 1: there isn't enough positions for students to do placements. She

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Speaker 1: said she knows people that have obviously waited low but

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Speaker 1: she's now finished and she is awaiting that registration to

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Speaker 1: come through from the Nursing and mid were free board.

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Speaker 1: She's been scanning Seek daily obviously for positions to apply for,

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Speaker 1: and almost every single placement that is in there or

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Speaker 1: ad that's placed in there is looking for registered nurses

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Speaker 1: that do require a minimum of twelve months experience.

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Speaker 2: Some roles obviously need quite a bit more.

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Speaker 1: I think we all understand that we need some really

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Speaker 1: experienced nurses and midwives within the health system. But is

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Speaker 1: there some capacity here for us to maybe speed things

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Speaker 1: up with our graduate nurses to get them in there

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Speaker 1: sooner rather than later and utilize their skills.

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Speaker 3: So, Katie, when someone does nursing, they study at university

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Speaker 3: and they're working to get their degree, and they have

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Speaker 3: practical placements, and we have to make sure that they

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Speaker 3: have the appropriate supervision for that. They then can enter

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Speaker 3: through a grad program as a graduate program to give

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Speaker 3: them the additional skills. So I can't come in on

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Speaker 3: the specific listeners inquiry. I'm happy to if you forward

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Speaker 3: us some details to make or help look into it.

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Speaker 3: But this is part of the processes that we have

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Speaker 3: that they can get that support. That we have different

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Speaker 3: continual intakes of nurses and we need to make sure

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Speaker 3: that we fulfill positions and it is really important that

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Speaker 3: people have the right clinical experience to go into the

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Speaker 3: role that is open at that time.

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Speaker 2: Well, and I know it's a tough one at the moment.

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Speaker 1: We obviously heard from Scott Bowman, the vice chancellor at

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Speaker 1: charles Dale and University yesterday as well, who said that

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Speaker 1: there are up to he didn't have the exact figure,

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Speaker 1: but up to fifty nurses who've completed their degrees but

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Speaker 1: they've been unable to get their practical placements. I know

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Speaker 1: that this would have been difficult over the last eighteen

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Speaker 1: months with the situation that we've seen with COVID right

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Speaker 1: around the nation. But is there something more that we

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Speaker 1: could be doing in this space? Do you reckon to

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Speaker 1: try and speed them up, to grow our own and

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Speaker 1: get them into the hospitals as quickly as possible.

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Speaker 3: So nurses don't only undertake practical placement within the antique

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Speaker 3: government health system. They can go and work with our

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Speaker 3: aboriginal medical organizations. They can go on work with GPS

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Speaker 3: and private providers and so part of for them doing

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Speaker 3: their degree is they do their degree, but then they

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Speaker 3: need to get those placements and they have to have

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Speaker 3: a variety of placements and then of course the specialist

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Speaker 3: training that they'd like to go down the path is

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Speaker 3: a factor as well. So certainly, always happy to work

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Speaker 3: and we do work with childs Dale University. It is

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Speaker 3: something that's been impacted by COVID because people haven't had

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Speaker 3: the ability to travel and do those placements in some cases.

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Speaker 3: But always happy to look at how we can be

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Speaker 3: more flexible, but we do need to make sure that

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Speaker 3: they're meeting the requirements and they get the appropriate supervision

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Speaker 3: to get their qualifications.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and look, we all understand that. I think that

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Speaker 1: we've got to make sure that it's all happening properly.

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Speaker 1: But by the sounds of it, there are some significant delays.

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Speaker 3: So Katie, I think it's also comes back to the

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Speaker 3: point you were just questioning me about we have people

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Speaker 3: that have, you know, perhaps gone to university and got

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Speaker 3: a nurse's degree, but have they got the appropriate clinical experience?

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Speaker 3: Is it the specialty And particularly with the challenges we're

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Speaker 3: facing now, it's in emergency nursing, psychiatric nursing and post

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Speaker 3: operative surgery care, so it's quite complex. It's just not

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Speaker 3: a matter of oh, there's ten nurses over there, let's

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Speaker 3: get them here. We need to make sure they have

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Speaker 3: the right qualifications within our system. I can tell you

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Speaker 3: for example, in mental health, the system changed some years

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Speaker 3: ago and Australia wide we're seeing a real need for mental

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Speaker 3: health nurses. So we within our system are looking at

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Speaker 3: how we can get people that are nursing and make

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Speaker 3: sure if they're interested in going into psychiatric nursing, how

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Speaker 3: can we support them through that program. So there's certainly

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Speaker 3: lots of innovation happening, not only within education providers the universities,

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Speaker 3: but within the Department of Health to grow our.

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Speaker 2: Own all right.

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Speaker 1: One of the other issues that continues to bubble along,

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Speaker 1: and I know that the Northern Territory News has covered

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Speaker 1: this or fairly extensively. It is this letter that was

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Speaker 1: sent by Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospitals Medical Services Acting

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Speaker 1: Deputy Director Colin Fakerey to junior doctors warning of a

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Speaker 1: twelve months and if they resign early. It's been slammed

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Speaker 1: by health experts. But Minister, did you think this letter

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Speaker 1: was appropriate?

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Speaker 3: No, Katie, I don't think it. I think that it

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Speaker 3: was sent with good intentions, but I don't think it

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Speaker 3: highlighted the hard work, how difficult it's been and we

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Speaker 3: all know the challenges of not being able to travel,

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Speaker 3: not seeing family and friends. So no, I don't agree

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Speaker 3: with the tone of that letter.

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Speaker 1: I mean, what do we need to be doing in

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Speaker 1: this space, because if we have got a situation where

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Speaker 1: some junior doctors as they've been referred to in this

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Speaker 1: letter are leaving because of that pressure, what do we

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Speaker 1: need to do Because you know, from what we can gather,

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Speaker 1: I know that you're obviously working very hard. We've got

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Speaker 1: so many people that are working incredibly hard within the

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Speaker 1: health system, but it does seem as though we are

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Speaker 1: seriously lacking staff.

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Speaker 2: And then you know, by the sounds.

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Speaker 1: Of the reporting that we've seen here with these junior doctors,

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Speaker 1: they're then leaving because of that additional stress.

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Speaker 2: How can we try to sort this.

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Speaker 3: The Katie, I'm not disputing that junior doctors don't leave

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Speaker 3: the system because of and anxiety, but what we do

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Speaker 3: see is towards the end of placements, people have got

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Speaker 3: positions in other institutions and jurisdictions, and this is not

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Speaker 3: just within Australia. Doctors in Melbourne, for example, might leave

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Speaker 3: to head home to the UK, and so we do

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Speaker 3: see in that lead up to the end of the year.

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Speaker 3: Because these contracts tend to go January to January, we

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Speaker 3: do tend to see people leave, which adds a burden

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Speaker 3: to this system. So that's my understanding. It's a very

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Speaker 3: operational matter. I did not agree with the tone of

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Speaker 3: the letter in the sense of supporting our junior doctors,

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Speaker 3: but I've made that clear to the department. But it

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Speaker 3: really isn't matter for the Department of Health to manage.

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Speaker 1: Now Minster Just finally, one of the other things that

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Speaker 1: we've been contacted about. We spoke to about it briefly

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Speaker 1: on Friday during the week that was But boarding school

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Speaker 1: and that national code, is it something that the Northern

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Speaker 1: Territory is going to be prepared to implement. We know

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Speaker 1: that we've got some boarding school students who are wanting

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Speaker 1: to come back or wanted to throughout the last school

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Speaker 1: holidays and to isolate in many cases out on their

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Speaker 1: you know, out on remote properties at stations and that

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Speaker 1: kind of thing. Is it something that we're looking at

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Speaker 1: doing for the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 3: So it's a really difficult space that can understand parents

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Speaker 3: and we've seen this for nearly eighteen months, two years

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Speaker 3: where children returning to the Northern Territory have to uphold

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Speaker 3: the quarantine requirements that have kept us safe. We do

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Speaker 3: try and work to make it as easy as possible.

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Speaker 3: But as we step through to eighty percent with the

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Speaker 3: double vaccination, that will provide a new opportunity. But I

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Speaker 3: know the Minister of Education has been working closely with

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Speaker 3: Centator Bridge at Mackenzie around this. But we do need

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Speaker 3: to make sure we uphold those health principles of quarantining

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Speaker 3: to keep the virus out of our community.

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Speaker 1: I mean, if there is a situation though, where they

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Speaker 1: can isolate sort of at a station, let's say where

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Speaker 1: they come from, is that not an option.

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Speaker 3: The Katie I won't comment specifically on that situation, but

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Speaker 3: there's a number of scenarios that are provided to health,

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Speaker 3: but when they're robustly tested, we can't ensure that the

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Speaker 3: surveillance and the compliance is there. So the Territory Controller

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Speaker 3: certainly and the Chief Health Officer have looked at these

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Speaker 3: issues and as we become more vaccinated, we're very hopeful

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Speaker 3: that we'll be able to step away from that. But

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Speaker 3: I know the Minister for Education has been working really

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Speaker 3: closely with the Commonwealth around this issue to support those

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Speaker 3: families and hopefully at the end of term four, which

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Speaker 3: will be December, we will see that double vaccination and

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Speaker 3: will certainly be in a different scenario.

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Speaker 1: Well Health Minister and Tourism Minister Natasha Files, we always

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Speaker 1: appreciate your time.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for speaking with us this morning.

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Speaker 3: Thank you