❓ Mr. Redman questions the Minister for Health on whether wage and training concerns led to the closure of country mobile dental services. The Minister acknowledges workforce issues across sectors, not solely related to salary negotiations, impacting service delivery.
AnsweredQoN 273Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COUNTRY MOBILE DENTAL SERVICES
I have a supplementary question. Does the minister agree that his failure to address wage and training concerns has led to these closures? Mr J.A. McGINTY
I have a supplementary question. Does the minister agree that his failure to address wage and training concerns has led to these closures? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
I think it is abundantly clear to everyone in Western Australia that there are workforce issues affecting every sector of the economy. It is not simply a question of the enterprise bargaining agreement and salary negotiations. Notwithstanding, for instance, an agreement with nurses in our hospitals late last year, we still experience difficulty in attracting sufficient nurses to fill all the positions to enable us to offer the complete range of services that we would like to offer, and on that account there are some service curtailments. It is the same issue that the public and private sectors are encountering throughout the length and breadth of Western Australia. Certainly, every private sector employer that I speak to raises exactly the same workforce issues that the school dental service is experiencing. Although I accept responsibility for the delivery of that service and the inability to deliver the service that has been traditionally provided in some areas, my focus has been on finding a solution to that issue, and that solution lies in the reasons I have just outlined to the house.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: I think it is abundantly clear to everyone in Western Australia that there are workforce issues affecting every sector of the economy. It is not simply a question of the enterprise bargaining agreement and salary negotiations. Notwithstanding, for instance, an agreement with nurses in our hospitals late last year, we still experience difficulty in attracting sufficient nurses to fill all the positions to enable us to offer the complete range of services that we would like to offer, and on that account there are some service curtailments. It is the same issue that the public and private sectors are encountering throughout the length and breadth of Western Australia. Certainly, every private sector employer that I speak to raises exactly the same workforce issues that the school dental service is experiencing. Although I accept responsibility for the delivery of that service and the inability to deliver the service that has been traditionally provided in some areas, my focus has been on finding a solution to that issue, and that solution lies in the reasons I have just outlined to the house.
I think it is abundantly clear to everyone in Western Australia that there are workforce issues affecting every sector of the economy. It is not simply a question of the enterprise bargaining agreement and salary negotiations. Notwithstanding, for instance, an agreement with nurses in our hospitals late last year, we still experience difficulty in attracting sufficient nurses to fill all the positions to enable us to offer the complete range of services that we would like to offer, and on that account there are some service curtailments. It is the same issue that the public and private sectors are encountering throughout the length and breadth of Western Australia. Certainly, every private sector employer that I speak to raises exactly the same workforce issues that the school dental service is experiencing. Although I accept responsibility for the delivery of that service and the inability to deliver the service that has been traditionally provided in some areas, my focus has been on finding a solution to that issue, and that solution lies in the reasons I have just outlined to the house.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: I think it is abundantly clear to everyone in Western Australia that there are workforce issues affecting every sector of the economy. It is not simply a question of the enterprise bargaining agreement and salary negotiations. Notwithstanding, for instance, an agreement with nurses in our hospitals late last year, we still experience difficulty in attracting sufficient nurses to fill all the positions to enable us to offer the complete range of services that we would like to offer, and on that account there are some service curtailments. It is the same issue that the public and private sectors are encountering throughout the length and breadth of Western Australia. Certainly, every private sector employer that I speak to raises exactly the same workforce issues that the school dental service is experiencing. Although I accept responsibility for the delivery of that service and the inability to deliver the service that has been traditionally provided in some areas, my focus has been on finding a solution to that issue, and that solution lies in the reasons I have just outlined to the house.
I think it is abundantly clear to everyone in Western Australia that there are workforce issues affecting every sector of the economy. It is not simply a question of the enterprise bargaining agreement and salary negotiations. Notwithstanding, for instance, an agreement with nurses in our hospitals late last year, we still experience difficulty in attracting sufficient nurses to fill all the positions to enable us to offer the complete range of services that we would like to offer, and on that account there are some service curtailments. It is the same issue that the public and private sectors are encountering throughout the length and breadth of Western Australia. Certainly, every private sector employer that I speak to raises exactly the same workforce issues that the school dental service is experiencing. Although I accept responsibility for the delivery of that service and the inability to deliver the service that has been traditionally provided in some areas, my focus has been on finding a solution to that issue, and that solution lies in the reasons I have just outlined to the house.
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