A new staffing model for Stanton Territorial Hospital’s emergency department will begin in July.

Krystal Pidborochynski, communications director for the NWT Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA), told ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø on Tuesday about the upcoming change.

"This is a quality improvement initiative driven by engagement with the physicians," she said. "The aim of these changes is to improve patient care by improving efficiency, including workflow and wait-times, redundancy of staff to mitigate unexpected staffing gaps, and to improve staff retention and recruitment through more balanced workloads."

Funding for the updated staffing model will also allow for staffing of the daily eight-hour period of double physician coverage with a fully credentialed physician, according to Pidborochynski.

"The change aims to achieve better distribution of workload, improved patient care, and reduced physician burnout," she said.

Currently, the hospital's emergency department is working with a little more than 50 per cent of its ideal staffing.

For the hospital's emergency department, its physician schedule is designed to include 7.2 full-time equivalents (FTE) of Emergency Department-credentialed physicians. According to Pidborochynski, there are about four FTEs of emergency room physicians staffing the department currently.

A FTE does not necessarily account for one person; it is more accurate to say it's about the hours they work. For example, two people who work half-days in a department can account for one FTE, Pidborochynski explained.

Currently, she said that of the roughly four FTEs of emergency room physicians staffing the department — which is supplemented by locum physicians — that work is performed by six people who spend proportions of their contracted hours there.

"It is also important to note that many physicians hold part-time positions, and some participate in staffing other essential programs," Pidborochynski added. 

She also noted that between May and September, four of the six current incumbents either are or will be on extended leave.

Three emergency department physicians are scheduled per day, Pidborochynski said, with each working eight-hour shifts to provide around-the-clock staffing. 

"The schedule includes an additional physician scheduled daily to provide eight hours of overlap during peak hours," she said, noting that these shifts are staffed by either physicians credentialed to work in the emergency department or physicians with other levels of credentialing.

Elsewhere in the NWT, the Hay River Regional Health Centre currently has no physician in town providing emergency coverage between May 9 and May 16. In contrast, the NWT Health and Social Services Authority has been adamant that residents can rest assured Stanton Territorial Hospital's emergency department will not close, even with an expected reduction of services for the month of May.