Chris Puglia
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 20/02) - Health Minister Michael Miltenberger has accused Range Lake MLA Sandy Lee of misleading the public about staffing problems at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

The accusation stems from a letter Lee sent to Miltenberger and other health officials at the hospital on Sept. 13. It claims staffing problems plaguing the operating room (OR) at Stanton are so critical the hospital may have to shut down the OR for two days a week.

Lee goes on to say that service interruptions in the OR could impact the obstetrics unit and force patients requiring cesarean-sections to be flown south.

"Having a territorial hospital, the only acute treatment facility in this vast territory, with closed units is unacceptable."

"Operating some of them on a part-time basis is simply laughable," Lee wrote in the letter.

Miltenberger believes the letter is spreading unfounded anxiety.

"What you have here is information that is misleading. It is a snapshot of the point in time when this letter was written," said Miltenberger.

"As minister I'm not going to have a knee-jerk reaction. I don't have that luxury."

Fully staffed

"We are fully staffed in the OR," said Larry Elkin, Stanton Territorial Health Board chair.

"Two of our OR nurses need additional training so they can do on-call, so at this point they are not able to be fully utilized."

Despite that fact, Elkin said the OR will be open every night under the current staffing situation.

"Service is normal. We are under some pressure, but the situation is normal at this time."

Lee said the hospital's move to fully staff the OR so there wouldn't be a service reduction is merely a patch-work response induced by public pressure.

"I stand by my words. It's a very delicate and fragile system they have there," she said.

"On Friday when I wrote that letter I got a call from someone that works there (the hospital) who was very concerned and very reliable."

"The measures (the hospital) put in were because I went public."

The board will be meeting with the minister today to discuss a recruitment and retention strategy the minister said would be unveiled today.

Staffing global issue

Dr. Ken Seethram, president of the NWT medical association, is another person who believes a strategy is desperately needed.

"She (Lee) is absolutely right. We can't let this kind of system go on," he said.

"Miss Lee is pointing out a global human resources problem that is affecting acute care."

Seethram said the problem is affecting more than just Yellowknife's hospital and it has an impact across the territory, spanning all health care professionals.

"It's so multi-factorial. We need to have some kind of comprehensive staffing and recruitment program in place," said Seethram.

"The problem is systemic if you want to get people here you need to pay them what they are worth."

Seethram places blame on the territorial government.

"The people running the hospital are doing a fine job. They are just not getting the support the need," he said.