1660133008 Health Worker Shortage in Nunavik The army claimed

Health Worker Shortage in Nunavik | The army claimed

Facing the shortage of caregivers in northern communities, local authorities have asked for army reinforcements, a request turned down by Quebec, which is instead relying on sending medical staff “very quickly”.

Posted at 5:00 am

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Ariane Lacoursiere

Ariane Lacoursiere The press

Medical staff shortages in seven Nunavik communities reached unprecedented heights this summer. The situation is so critical that local health officials have urged the government to “press the red button” and call in the army. Quebec denies this request, instead planning to quickly send medical personnel and sign an agreement with the Red Cross.

“The shortage of nursing staff we are currently facing is such that our contingency plan will no longer be sufficient to ensure access to services (including emergencies) for all communities in the coming weeks,” confirms Inuulitsivik Health Center near La Press.

“Everyone is very stressed. Nervous. We are scared,” says Siasi Smiler, an elder from Inukjuak village who is also a member of the community health committee. “The situation is alarming. Critical. As a person and as a nurse, I am genuinely concerned about the situation,” said Cyril Gabreau, President of the Northern Hudson’s Bay Nurses Union.

Health Worker Shortage in Nunavik The army claimed

PHOTO GRAHAM HUGHES, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVE

The village of Inukjuak in Nunavik

Both the Inuulitsivik Health Center and the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (RRSSSN) have asked Quebec to call the army to arrive urgently, as CHSLDs have done during the pandemic.

Régie spokeswoman Kathleen Poulin states that “several inquiries have been made to the MSSS (Department of Health and Social Services) and other authorities”.

You have to understand the situation: the nursing services have no more staff to offer. The shortage of medical staff is affecting all of Quebec. You must look elsewhere. Some organizations can provide medical personnel, including the Red Cross and the Canadian Armed Forces.

Kathleen Poulin, spokeswoman for the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services

Quebec says it takes the situation in Hudson’s Bay communities very seriously. “An emergency plan will be drawn up immediately and urgently,” confirmed La Presse on Tuesday Marjaurie Côté-Boileau, spokeswoman for Health Minister Christian Dubé. However, the option to urgently call the army was not retained. “We will send medical personnel, and very quickly. By the end of the week we should also have agreed with the Red Cross to help on site. Therefore, we do not intend to call in the army as medical resources will be channeled as quickly as possible,” says Ms. Côté-Boileau.

1660133002 555 Health Worker Shortage in Nunavik The army claimed

INFOGRAPHIC THE PRESS

Nunavik villages have suffered a service disruption since the beginning of the summer

The NRBHSS recognizes that in certain villages on the Hudson Bay coast “the risk to the population is real”. A crisis team was set up at the Inuulitsivik Health Center at the beginning of the summer to deal with the staff shortage. Meetings with the MSSS are weekly and since August 1st daily. The MSSS says it is aware of “the precariousness of the situation” in the north.

Various measures have been taken to recruit workers. For example, paramedics can now lend a hand themselves. Five are currently in use there. New rewards were added in early August. Efforts have been intensified since the beginning of the summer “to find solutions and new outside resources to support our teams,” but “all without much success so far,” admits the Inuulitsivik Health Center.

“No other options”

Like the rest of the Quebec health network, Nunavik has not been spared staff shortages this summer. In Inukjuak, on-call duty at the pharmacy is usually shared by six nurses in an extended role. “In July and August we were two, sometimes one. We just couldn’t afford the day care system,” says nurse Charlie Laplante-Robert, who has been working in Inukjuak for five years.

1660133003 996 Health Worker Shortage in Nunavik The army claimed

PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

Charlie Laplante-Robert, Nurse in Inukjuak

People feel abandoned.

Charlie Laplante-Robert, Nurse in Inukjuak

In the remote coastal villages of Hudson Bay, where the only way to get to anywhere else is by plane, the consequences of understaffing are severe. “We have no other medical options here. We have no path that can lead us to another clinic or hospital,” the Inukjuak health committee wrote in a warning letter sent to Quebec Solidaire candidate in Ungava, Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash, on July 18.

Since the beginning of the summer, the 8,000 inhabitants of the seven villages on the coast of Hudson Bay have had to make do with only emergency care for a long time because there are not enough staff for routine care. Currently, “four out of seven pharmacies (Puvirnituq, Inukjuak, Kuujjuarapik, Akulivik) are closed during business hours and only accepting emergencies until the end of August. That’s more than 5,300 people without current care,” said Juliette Rolland, spokeswoman for Inuulitsivik Health Center.

1660133004 840 Health Worker Shortage in Nunavik The army claimed

PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE

The health pharmacy in the village of Puvirnituq, seen above in a photo taken last March, is closed during working hours.

There are no follow-up appointments or regular appointments. Blood tests, follow-up examinations for treating infections or vaccinations, for example in children, must be submitted. Ms Laplante-Robert says she fears people’s situation will get worse or they won’t be diagnosed in time.

In its warning letter sent out in July, the Inukjuak Health Committee writes that the community “again” feels that it is “not receiving the quality of service it deserves”.

The committee believes that the current crisis requires “a rapid and urgent response from the relevant authorities” and “before a dramatic failure occurs”.

While waiting for backup, Nunavik health officials are developing an emergency response plan. Specifically, this plan provides for the evacuation to Puvirnituq of all Nunavimiuq who need to see a doctor. “Evacuations are not only carried out in emergencies, but as soon as a case requires professional screening and care,” says Ms. Rolland.

In the other six villages on the Hudson Bay coast, minimal care teams are being held to stabilize patients until they can be airlifted (which could take more than a day in inclement weather).

An agreement has also been reached with the 2nd Canadian Division of the Canadian Armed Forces so that “members of the armed forces who wish to retain their acquired skills in nursing or medicine” can do so in the North, Ms Poulin says.

At the time of writing, neither the Régie nor the Inuulitsivik Health Center could tell us when these workers would arrive and how many there would be. We are not talking here about a large-scale intervention of emergency measures, but about a limited number of workers “who can provide care alongside the medical staff of the health center”. The Canadian Forces’ 2nd Canadian Division did not respond to questions from La Presse on Tuesday.

Learn more

  • 1100 km distance between Montreal and the nearest village on the Hudson Bay

    800 km distance, over which the seven villages of the Hudson Bay coast are spread

  • 0 Number of routes serving Hudson’s Bay