(file photo/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Obstetrics needs

SHA hopes to recruit more physicians for Meadow Lake Hospital

Jun 27, 2023 | 2:54 PM

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is attempting to recruit more physicians to work at Meadow Lake Hospital to meet staffing needs.

“We have limited O/R [operating room] capacity over the summer, more so related to physician capacity than nursing,” Saskatchewan Health Authority’s Acute Care programming North West director Emily Harder said. “We need more physicians that have privileges to provide anesthetic and have privileges to do C-sections. We’re working quite actively with the director of primary health care, with physician affairs, to try to recruit or incentivize some physicians that are here to get those privileges.”

The hospital reported last year, it was offering full obstetrical services to patients again in September of 2022, after having to cut back on some planned, low-risk obstetrical services over the summer. These types of deliveries were temporarily unavailable at the hospital since July 1 of 2022 as a result of “significant challenges with nursing vacancies.” No other acute-care services were impacted. As well, emergency obstetrical deliveries were still available throughout the service disruption period.

Harder said as far as staffing overall for the Meadow Lake Hospital, especially in the emergency room department, that it’s “looking a lot better than last summer.”

“We’ve been able to hire three new RN grads, or who are in the process of getting their RNs,” she said. “We’ve also had some stabilization through having some nurses continue to renew their contracts here. That also helps out our staffing situation.”

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However, the hospital continues to be on “intermittent service disruption” for obstetrical services this summer.

Usually on Mondays to Fridays during the week, the hospital has staffing to deliver low risk births. For weekends services, it depends on availability.

“It depends on the staffing, and also on the concerns of the mother,” Harder said. “Sometimes they may feel unwell and they show up in emergency, and they are not in active labour. So, we will help them deal with that situation, and then discharge them if appropriate. But if they are in active labour we have to see how far they’ve progressed.”

It’s essentially on a case-by-case basis.

The hospital is also working on having more nurses trained for obstetrics.

“Right now, we only have six full time RNs that are trained in obstetrical care,” Harder said. “We’re working on a plan to get more RNs trained. We don’t start our new grads out in obstetrics. We start them in the med-surge [medical-surgical] unit. Then, we orientate them to the emergency department. Then, we add on obstetrics after that.”

She noted obstetrics is an intensive care, even for a regular, low-risk births.

“After the mom starts pushing, it’s one-to-one nursing,” Harder added. “We do have quite a bit of availability over the summer. But it will be similar to what’s been happening over the last 12 months with our obstetric services.”

She mentioned the SHA plans to meet to look into “building a plan to stabilize that service over the next six to 12 months, so that we can look to returning to providing more regular support for moms that have low risk births.”

Harder noted the Meadow Lake Hospital always provides emergency birthing services because sometimes an expectant woman will arrive at the hospital, when the delivery is imminent.

“They are delivering, and there is not an opportunity to send them out,” she said.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

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