N.W.T. health authority bumps pay for locum physicians in response to staffing crisis
Doctors in territory have warned ER could close within weeks because of staffing shortages
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) is increasing the amount it pays locum physicians.
On top of the bump to locum's daily pay rate, the health authority is also creating a premium for night shifts, a travel stipend, and launching a program to incentivize long-term locums. That program gives a bonus to locum physicians who provide 75 or more clinical service days on site in the N.W.T.
The changes come into effect June 1. The authority announced them in a news release Wednesday night, saying it's part of "ongoing efforts to enhance recruitment and retention of physicians."
The announcement follows recent warnings from some doctors who say health-care staffing is at a crisis point.
In the news release, NTHSSA writes that the changes "align with the needs of our current and future locums, offer fair and competitive overall compensation and will contribute to a stronger more resilient physician workforce in the North."
NTHSSA did not say how much how much the pay for locum physicians would be increasing.
Last week, some N.W.T. doctors spoke to a committee of MLAs on behalf of the Northwest Territories Medical Association. They told committee members there is a desperate need for the territory to increase pay for locum doctors this summer to keep the emergency room staffed.
They also told MLAs that in response to a nation-wide doctor shortage, other jurisdictions have increased their pay and that some locum physicians take a pay cut to work in the N.W.T.
Dan Florizone, the public administrator of the health authority which operates the hospital, told CBC News earlier on Wednesday that a "closure of the emergency department is not an option. It's not something we would actively pursue."
In addition to the incentives to attract more locum physicians in the short-term, Florizone said the health authority has mid-term and long-term plans to improve health care in the territory. He says making use of technology like AI and virtual care is something they're exploring.