Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 06/99) - There is a nursing shortage in the North and the situation hasn't spared Stanton Regional Hospital.

Stanton manager of maternal child services, Mary- Ellen Hoyles, said the summer was tough on staff.

While some of the hospital's 150 nurses resigned this summer, many others were taking their holidays.

"Staff had to work hard to make sure patients needs were met at all times," Hoyles said.

She said with the summer over, the managers are getting a handle on the situation and things are looking up.

"The nursing shortage is something that's a problem throughout the North, and Stanton Regional Hospital is no exception," Hoyles said.

"But we seem to be coming out of it. I feel we're heading in the right direction because I hired two new nurses in my department and I know hiring is going on in other departments."

Hoyles said in the meantime they are "actively recruiting," which means they follow up on every resume they receive.

"It's often more difficult to attract experienced nurses because they're already established somewhere else, so it's really a balancing act."

As for staff morale, Hoyles says they have a strong group of dedicated professionals at Stanton who are tired but not defeated.

"The regular staff have been excellent. They come in and help us out when we're in dire straits and they stay late if need be," Hoyles said.

"But our nurses are definitely anxious. They're tired of working overtime and they want to know the vacancies on staff are going to be filled."

Stanton Regional Health Board CEO Dennis Cleaver said a GNWT nurses retention and recruitment strategy that was launched this year will alleviate some of the strain.

"It seems like in the last couple of years, we've been in a constant recruitment mode," Cleaver said.

"We seem to be always looking for seven to 10 nurses and the difficult thing is recruiting experienced nurses for critical-care areas like obstetrics and intensive care."

That said, Cleaver is quick to point out that patient care has not been compromised.

"Stanton has maintained an exceptional level of care throughout this trying time and that can be attributed to the excellent staff we have," Cleaver said.

"We're just trying to stay ahead and thanks to the government's recruitment and retention strategy, we're in a better position to do that."