The Northwest Territories (NWT) healthcare system continues to grapple with significant staffing shortages, a concern that has persisted for years. For example, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority just increased locum rates by an astounding 43%. Beyond those, they’ve put into place a number of other initiatives to draw more healthcare professionals to the area. Their age group – 70 and over – has more than doubled in size in the past 20 years alone. This exponential jump has rocketed the need for healthcare services, straining extreme pressure on a system that was already stretched thin.
That’s one of the reasons why Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician and president of the NWT Medical Association, has sounded the alarm. She cautions that without staffing, emergency departments risk having to close their doors. There’s a weekend in May where we’ve only got one physician scheduled for the majority of days. We don’t know when we’re going to be able to afford to keep the doors of the emergency department open,” she said. This concern echoes throughout the healthcare community as professionals strive to ensure that essential services remain accessible to the population.
Dan Florizone, the province’s regional health authority’s administrator, has sought to assuage concerns. His was an adamant reassurance that emergency departments would continue to operate and wouldn’t be shuttered. “We most definitely do not want to shut the emergency department. We’re going to fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he continued. Continuing concerns national emergency services A reassuring statement came from Florizone that whatever staffing levels needed to provide emergency services will be provided.
Staffing Shortages Persist
Table 1 Comparative NWT healthcare system difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff
Tethering the challenge is its high uncompetitiveness, especially with other areas offering such alluring compensation. Discontent among healthcare professionals over the administration and work climate has driven many to abandon their posts. As Danielle Stachiw, an orthopedic surgeon at the Stanton Hospital, told us, their patient load continues to grow. She added, “I used to take care of no more than one or two hip fracture patients a month, but now it’s three to four a week.”
Stachiw noted that operating room and anesthesia staffing levels are considered essential, but have not been raised in 20 years. That’s why people are leaving, because they don’t feel spoken to. They don’t feel included—you know, in the process,” she stated. The NWT Medical Association is sounding the alarm. It’s low morale in response to shifts in the state’s healthcare landscape that were implemented without enough staff buy-in.
Given these pressures, the public health authority has turned to technology as one way to address the staffing crisis. For this next phase, Florizone intends to move from other VTT providers and connection networks. They want to bring in southern physicians to shore up their staffing pools.
New Incentives for Healthcare Professionals
In an effort to address high-level vacancy and recruitment issues, the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority recently implemented new premium rates for night shifts at Stanton Hospital. They have been providing travel stipends to fill locum positions. These incentives can encourage more medical personnel to go where the need is greatest in harsh and dangerous conditions.
In spite of all of these efforts, practitioners in the field are still wary of their effectiveness. Stachiw emphasized that simply creating teams does not resolve staffing issues: “Every physician in NWT would like to see care being moved toward integrative team-based care. Just making a team doesn’t check the box. You have to actually staff that team.”
Florizone urged healthcare workers to help inform ideas, get involved and have their say in crafting the right solutions. “You’re essential to our delivery of care. Your innovations — come with those as well, because we want to experiment with some of them and be able to pilot them,” he said. He reiterated his pledge to make sure that all possible is done to maintain core services.
Community Impact and Future Considerations
The impacts of these staffing shortages go beyond just affecting immediate healthcare access. They have a ripple effect on community health outcomes. With an aging population and growing demand for services, healthcare professionals are concerned that they won’t be able to provide the high-quality care patients need. Howard voiced her concerns: “We’ve never before had to choose between leaving the emerge uncovered and making someone work for 24 hours, and we’re going to end up in that position.”
Beyond these recruitment efforts, there are bigger questions about how to best deliver healthcare in the NWT. Howard called on the region to capitalize on the favorable political atmospheres in the United States to spur action. This might lure healthcare workers who are more insecure in their own spaces.
Florizone remains optimistic about addressing these issues head-on and emphasizes collaboration with healthcare professionals: “They want voice and engagement … I’m here to say, ‘Bring it on.’ We want to have you connected.” His collaborative approach is designed to create an environment where all staff—from officers to analysts—feel empowered to contribute solutions.
