The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) has announced a temporary suspension of labour and delivery services at Inuvik Regional Hospital (IRH). The suspension will be in effect from June 30, 2024, until September 8, 2024.
During this time, patients planning to deliver in Inuvik who are at least 36 weeks up to September 8th will be contacted to transition their care to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife.
While attempts will be made to maintain emergency labor and delivery services at IRH amid the service reduction, their availability cannot be guaranteed.
Prenatal and postnatal assessments and care will still be provided at IRH, ensuring continued support. Anyone in Inuvik who is pregnant and requires assessment or who goes into labour during this time should go to the IRH department for care.
The reduction in services is due to a temporary shortfall in qualified obstetric nursing staff. The NTHSSA is actively recruiting to address this gap and will continue to assess staffing levels. If shortages continue, there may be a need to extend the service reduction or reintroduce it, which will be communicated in due course.
Efforts to minimize or shorten the service reduction in Inuvik include the NTHSSA’s completion of external and internal requests for personnel with the necessary qualifications to be reassigned to Inuvik, as well as outreach to casual staff to gauge their interest.
Nursing staffing agencies have been contacted to determine whether qualified personnel can be recruited to support the obstetric service at IRH in the short term until staffing levels stabilize. While these efforts have provided some staff, it has not been sufficient to prevent the reduction of services.
All affected patients will be contacted. If your delivery date is approaching and you have not been contacted, or if you need more information, call Inuvik Primary Care at (867) 678-8041.
