Shortage continues

Dr. David Cook, Stanton Regional Hospital's chief of surgery says efforts to recruit nurses North have been hindered because of the lack of benefits.

Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 04/01) - Nurses have to be offered more in order to make Yellowknife attractive, says Stanton Regional Hospital's chief of surgery.

"It's been known for months now, at least to the hospital, that the nursing package we're offering is not sufficient," says Dr. David Cook.

Nurses benefits Northern living allowance: $1,750 a year in Yellowknife, higher in more remote communities. Vacation: 16.5 days a year, 21.5 days after two years. Winter bonus days: An extra vacation day for five days vacation taken in winter, to help even out staff shortages throughout the year. Uniform allowance: $300 a year. Benefits: The same extended health and medical, life and disability insurance plans available to all GNWT employees. Superannuation pension: Employer contributes $2.14 for every dollar employee pays into plan.

The hospital is trying to recruit more nurses to reopen a ward for recovering surgery patients that last June was amalgamated with other wards, mostly on the children's floor. Four or five more nurses are needed before the ward can reopen. Dr. Cook says the nurse shortage could have been avoided.

"The hospital had been planning to close the surgery ward. So, when a nurse would retire or move down south, they weren't replaced. When they changed their mind and decided to open the ward, they had many nurses to recruit. They were then faced with trying to recruit nurses when there was a national shortage," Dr. Cook said.

"Every week ... we've usually hired another nurse or two but then somebody else has put in their resignation. In a month, who knows where we'll be," he said.

A health region spokesman says no nurses were laid off because of natural attrition, but Dennis Cleaver acknowledges that a temporary halt to recruiting efforts due to the extended ward closure disrupted the flow of nurses to the region.

Since last October the health region has advertised 39 nurse position openings. During same period 15 resigned, seven new ones were recruited from the south while two others moved to Yellowknife from other parts of the NWT.

Cleaver says offering nurses more attractive pay is beyond the health region's control, because wages are set by unions and territorial government.

A collective agreement in place with Northern nurses expires next March.

NWT nurses were the highest paid in Canada until a recent lucrative settlement for Alberta nurses raised the bar. And B.C. nurses, now in wage negotiations, will likely break more new ground when they settle, predicts a nurse recruiting specialist hired by GNWT.

"Salary is not the issue ... where we're falling through is the benefits," Linda MacDonald said. The main benefit in southern jurisdictions is ongoing educational opportunities, which are not available in the North.

MacDonald said the GNWT is working on creating those opportunities.

Surgical nurses earn between $55,294 and $62,729 a year, in addition to signing bonuses ranging from $1,862 in Yellowknife to $8,112 in Inuvik.