Reduced service at Pelly Crossing, Yukon, health centre because of staffing
Centre will remain open, with one nurse until Friday
The community health centre in Pelly Crossing, Yukon, is operating at reduced capacity this week.
Territorial health officials issued a notice saying the centre will remain open, with one nurse in the community until Friday.
Residents who need urgent care can go to the health centre during regular clinic hours, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. The nurse and an Emergency Medical Services paramedic will be available for emergency coverage after hours, the notice says.
The government says the service reduction is because of staffing shortages.
It’s the latest health-care staffing issue for the government. The Pelly health centre was closed for a day and a half last winter because no nurses were available, and again for several weeks in the spring.
And last month, the health centre in Ross River, Yukon, was without a nurse for more than a week and services at that centre were reduced through most of July, also because of staffing shortages.
A government spokesperson said in June that they were “actively recruiting health professionals and exploring new staffing models to support long-term stability in Ross River and other rural areas.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Nunavik health board proposes hiring private staff to help curb tuberculosis outbreak, CBC News
United States: Senators, including Alaska’s, sound alarm on cuts impacting Indigenous health care agency, Eye on the Arctic
