Inuvik Regional Hospital temporarily suspends obstetrics and delivery services

The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) has announced a temporary suspension of obstetric services at Inuvik Regional Hospital (IRH). The suspension will be in effect from June 30, 2024, to September 8, 2024.

During this time, patients planning to deliver in Inuvik who are at least 36 weeks pregnant by September 8 will be contacted to transfer their care to Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife.

Although efforts are being made to maintain emergency maternity services at the IRH despite the service reduction, their availability cannot be guaranteed.

Prenatal and postnatal assessments and care will continue to be provided at the IRH, ensuring continuity of support. Anyone in Inuvik who is pregnant and requires assessment, or who is going into labour during this time, should contact the IRH unit for care.

The reduction in services is due to a temporary shortage of qualified obstetric nurses. NTHSSA is actively recruiting to fill this gap and will continue to assess staffing levels. If shortages continue, it may be necessary to extend or re-introduce the reduction in services. This will be announced in due course.

NTHSSA’s efforts to minimize or shorten service reductions in Inuvik include processing external and internal requests for personnel with the required qualifications to be relocated to Inuvik, as well as contacting temporary staff to determine their interest.

Nursing staff recruitment agencies have been contacted to determine whether qualified staff can be hired to support the IRH obstetric service in the short term until the staffing situation stabilizes. While these efforts have provided some staff, they are not sufficient to prevent a reduction in services.

All affected patients will be contacted. If your due date is approaching and you have not been contacted, or if you need more information, call Inuvik Primary Care at (867) 678-8041.