The Registered Nurses Union is welcoming news that a date has been set for a public hearing into the Auditor General’s report into agency nurse contracts.

The hearing will take place in the House of Assembly chamber at Confederation Building on August 12 at 1 p.m.

It will be live streamed and the public gallery will be open.

CEO Pat Parfrey and other senior officials with NLHS will be answering questions.

RNU President Yvette Coffey calls the hearing a “necessary and critical step” in addressing the concerns raised in the report.

The union stresses that it should not be a “public relations exercise” or an attempt to “deflect blame.” Nurses, who say people deserve a “full and transparent explanation,” argue that the ones who initially signed the contracts are the same ones leading the health authority today.

The RNU is encouraging the public to attend or listen to the hearings, and to contact their MHAs to voice their concerns.

The union has set up an online tool to help people email their MHAs.