Yellowknife (July 09/01) - The Inuvik health board is "leaving no rock unturned" searching for nurses to fill health centres this summer.

The Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Board has expressed more concern than any of the other boards over the current nursing shortage.

Nurses in Inuvik region health centres, like Tina Norris shown here in 1999, are in short supply. - NNSL file photo

"It's going to be a hot summer in terms of staffing," said board CEO Ray Scott.

The Inuvik board oversees the most outlying health centres. Eight of them have between one to four nurses, but that will soon drop when employees start taking summer vacations.

"We are trying everything we possibly can," Scott said. "I would like to think we are at the worst it will get, but unfortunately, I'm not sure that is correct."

The board will be calling in former workers who moved south and encourage employees to list any nurses they know who might be interested in filling in part-time positions.

The board is relying on community health representatives to aid the under-staffed centres and will keep the lines of communications open between community nurses needing advice and the Inuvik Regional Hospital.

"We are bringing people in for shorter terms, whatever length term we can," Scott said. "Stanton (Regional Hospital) has helped us out from time-to-time and other regions have helped us as well."

At least one community may have no nurses for a short period of time while schedules are juggled.

Right now, Leticia Byrch, an Inuvik nurse for 13 years, is working in Paulatuk where there is normally a staff of two nurses, but that is rarely the case.

"No, never," Byrch said when asked if there were ever two nurses there. "It's hard enough to fill one position."

Byrch said the centre is not often packed with patients, but when it does get busy, it gets tough.

"I feel sorry for nurses from the south who have no idea," she said. "But that is how it is, there just aren't enough nurses."

The Deh Cho Health and Social Services Board is also battling to fill a two-week period when they may be short, said CEO Kathy Tsetso.

"If it was September, we could get every nurse we needed, but this is a tough time of year," she said, adding, "as of today, we are not badly off."

Scott said the global nursing shortage is already taking a dramatic toll on staffing in the Delta and summer holidays are further compounding it.

"We won't see the worst of the nursing shortage for about four or five years," he said.