N.W.T. launches new bidding system to fill shifts at Stanton Territorial Hospital
Public administrator says telehealth is being looked at as a contingency, but hopes it doesn't come to that
Senior officials for the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority say the territory is ready to out-compete other jurisdictions to fill critical shifts at Yellowknife's hospital.
Dr. Claudia Kraft, the territorial medical director, said Monday they have written to all the qualified physicians who can work in the territory and invited them to submit their bid for compensation, asking what it would take for them to work certain shifts.
"This is really because we know there are several of our local physicians who've indicated that they'd like to be able to negotiate," Kraft said.
The program is temporary and aims to attract locum physicians to work during high-demand periods, filling critical shifts over the summer months. A Monday news release from the health authority said they're specifically looking to fill shifts between July 15 and Sept. 2.
The program comes as a way to help prevent the hospital's emergency room from either closing or relying on telehealth services. The idea of telehealth has been criticized by several organizations, including the Northwest Territories Medical Association, the Union of Northern Workers and the College and Association of Nurses of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Dan Florizone, the health authority's public administrator, said the government and the union are aligned in not wanting to use virtual care to prevent emergency room closures. That's still being looked at as a contingency plan, though, he said.
"When we say 'contingency,' [that's] the last resort, or what we would do if things don't work out in terms of recruitment," Florizone said.
He said it's in their best interest to have the territory be an attractive place to live, work and raise a family.
Florizone described the telehealth idea as innovative but said they are still looking into whether it would actually be appropriate.
Telehealth has been used in Fort Smith
Kraft said Stanton hasn't seriously considered using telehealth as they're still investigating the possibility, but it has been used in Fort Smith.
She said that as a result of physician illness and flight issues, there was a 12-hour period where a doctor couldn't be on site.
"We did have to use virtual care in that instance," she said, adding they've since been working to learn from that and what to do if they're in that situation in other parts of the territory.
Remote care has also been used in the past in places like Hay River when there were no doctors available.
Kraft said they're looking at using virtual care "in a pinch, in a crisis" for triage, to have the physician and the triage nurse work together to determine if care can be provided with another provider or physician on site.
"And that's why our solution needs to be designed with our staff hand-in-hand, because we really have to figure out something that will work here," she said.
Florizone said the consideration may not be popular, but they're looking for contingency plans to avoid the unimaginable.
"None of these contingency plans are ideal. We try our best to come up with the alternative to something. God forbid that we'd ever close," Florizone said.
Interviews by Hilary Bird