The Yukon Hospital Corporation's board of directors will establish a task force to address many of the problems that have recently been highlighted at Whitehorse's hospital.

'We do, of course, appreciate that there have been issues raised over the last little while, and part of that mandate is going to be dealing with those issues,' board chair Craig Tuton said at a press conference hosted at the hospital this morning.

Dr. Rao Tadepalli, president of the Yukon Medical Association, has publicly stated the emergency room needs restructuring, additional trauma bays are needed, the long-term bed and nursing shortages must be addressed and financing and space are needed to adequately address drug, alcohol and psychiatric patients.

Nurses are already being asked to work long hours, extra hours and having their vacation time cut, Paula Bilton, president of the Yukon Registered Nurses Association, has previously told the Star.

Marny Ryder, the former chair of the hospital's board, has stated the emergency room is too small, beds are being taken up by patients needing chronic care, acute care beds are being turned into nursing offices because of lack of space and the doctors are not getting along with hospital CEO Michael Aeberhardt.

Doctors at the hospital have delivered a petition to Aeberhardt calling for his resignation.

There are concerns with Aeberhardt, Tadepalli has said.

'There's a perception out there that he does not understand a community like Yukon and hasn't helped with the staff morale. It continues to go low.'

The allegations became a hot topic in the legislative assembly during the spring sitting. They led to questions by the Liberal party about how the government intended to address shortages at the hospital and if the CEO and Tuton have the confidence of government.

Tuton declined to comment on Aeberhardt, the circumstances surrounding the letter from the doctors, his relations with the staff at the hospital or the CEO's contract.

Aeberhardt sat next to Tuton throughout the almost 40-minute press briefing, but remained mute even when questions were asked directly of him.

After being repeatedly asked for comment, Aeberhardt allowed he felt the establishment of a task force would be a positive for the hospital.

'I look at recommendations as a very positive component and anything that comes out of this task force can only be viewed as that,' said Aeberhardt.

Any recommendations put forward by the task force would be assessed and they would be considered as having merit, he said.

Tuton was unable to provide many details on the structure of the task force nor its terms of reference. They will be discussed at the annual general meeting of the board of directors in Teslin on Wednesday, he said.

Tuton said he expects the task force will consist of members of the board, administration of the hospital, Yukon government representatives and individuals from the territory's medical and nursing communities.

The task force will be funded by the territorial government. The actual cost of the project has not yet been provided.

Tuton said he hopes the board-driven working group will be launched by the end of the month. But he was unable to say when it would be coming back with recommendations.

'I wish I could say to you that within six months, we'd have all the answers resolved and have a method in place to move forward, but I can't say that because I don't know it,' he said.

The issues to be examined are not new, he added, saying they have been issues in the territory for at least a decade.

What the board is doing now is committing to address them and move ahead, he said.

Tuton did not commit as to if the task force would directly have the power to review Aeberhardt's management of the hospital. That will have to be discussed with the board and Aeberhardt, he said, but he doesn't perceive it as a problem.

Aeberhardt has been very co-operative and is committed to the hospital, said Tuton.

The CEO has been criticized as not demonstrating a commitment to the hospital nor the Yukon. He still maintains a residence in British Columbia and returns there to visit his family for weeks at a time.

But Aeberhardt demonstrated his commitment by applying for the job and taking part in the application process, said Tuton, and he does have a home in Whitehorse.

'The board is supportive of the CEO and the direction we are taking to move forward,' he said.

The criticisms Aeberhardt has received in the legislature, the media and from the public could have serious implications for the Yukon's ability to recruit individuals to upper management positions in the future, Tuton added.

'I think what happened in the house over the last two weeks was terrible. It will be very difficult for somebody in Mr. Aeberhardt's position or like that to sit down and really, seriously consider about accepting a job in a government when they get criticized by the politicians that know nothing about what is happening over here.'

He added recruitment, retention and training are the real issues that must be addressed. But the current situation at the hospital is not having an impact on the high quality of health care Yukoners receive, he said.

'I guess it comes down to the fact of how you wake up in the morning. I wake up in the morning knowing that we have a very, very highly competent and professional group of people working at WGH,' he said.

'There are issues here at WGH, as there are at Vancouver General and Dawson Creek hospital and hospitals all across the country. But none of them are insurmountable.'

There may be personal differences occurring at the hospital now but that is to be expected in any change of management, said Tuton.

'When that happens, there's always an opportunity of a change of style in management both from the board's perspective because of the chair and both from the administration's perspective as the new CEO.'

Tuton was appointed as chair last September. Aeberhardt started his job in October 2006.

Tadepalli was originally scheduled to attend the briefing, but did not.

Tuton said Tadepalli has already made his concerns known to the board and they are being addressed.

The medical staff is fully committed to working with the board in moving forward, he said.

Tadepalli was unavailable for comment.