Northern Health hopes new recruitment efforts will finally curb long-term nursing shortage
Little change since auditor general's report said the nursing shortage puts patient safety at risk
In the 10 months since a report from B.C.'s auditor general pointed to serious concerns about a Northern B.C. nursing shortage, the health authority says there has been little change in the number of nurses under its employ.
Sandra Rossi is regional director of recruitment and retention for Northern Health. She said the nursing shortage in the region is part of a much greater problem.
"Northern Health isn't much different than many other health authorities," she said. "Particularly when we're looking at rural and remote health authorities across Canada or throughout the world."
Rossi said the difficulties in recruiting tend to be centred in rural and remote locations, particularly when trying to recruit nurses to specialty areas.
In Northern B.C., the greatest shortage is seen in the northeast and northwest, the regions most rural and remote locations.
Patient safety at risk: auditor general
B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringer found in a report last February that hundreds of thousands of patients are at risk in Northern B.C. due to the nursing shortage.
As of April 2017, 15 per cent of registered nurse positions and more than 25 per cent of nurse practitioner positions were vacant in the Northern Health Authority's rural and remote locations, spanning from just south of Quesnel to the B.C.-Yukon border. Bellringer's report considered every part of the region rural or remote except Prince George.
She warned the shortage could risk patient safety, burnout among existing nursing staff and higher costs to the health-care system overall due to paid overtime and hiring nurses from outside agencies at higher costs.
Northern Health already aware of the problem
Rossi said the health authority was already working toward improving recruitment and retention of nurses when the report from Bellringer came out.
Several new strategies are being put in place and Rossi says, even though there hasn't been any significant change to the number of nurses working in the region, there has been progress behind the scenes.
Rossi said Northern Health is launching a pilot project in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek that helps nurses recruited to the northeast to access temporary housing.
The health authority has also hired four nurses for the newly formed travel pool, which allows those nurses to work where they're needed at any given time.
At the same time, Rossi hopes to see some growth in the number of nurses in the region by supporting an application by the University of Northern B.C. to start a nursing program in the northeast.
"We know that the more that we have students trained in the north, the more likely they are to work and stay in our northern communities, and so, that is something that we're hoping will move forward."
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