Alberta 'fully prepared' and 'glad' to take on N.W.T births for next 2 months
Northwest Territories women face having to travel to Edmonton to give birth because of staffing shortages at the territory's largest hospital.
The health authority began notifying families earlier in the week that Stanton Territorial Hospital's labour and delivery services will be suspended except for emergencies between Dec. 10 and Feb. 21.
Officials attributed the decision to "staffing challenges, particularly nursing" leaving the hospital unable to ensure enough staff for a full volume of births. They called the issuance more acute in specialized skills like obstetrics.
A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services said the territory's southern neighbour had the capacity to help without impact on its own residents.
"We are working together with the Northwest Territories to ensure all expecting families have the support they need, including having a plan in place for where they will receive care and safely deliver their babies," Kerry Williamson told CTV News Edmonton.
"The majority of expectant families will receive care in Edmonton. Patients may be able to request a referral elsewhere in Alberta, depending on capacity and individual care needs."
Families who would normally plan to give birth in Yellowknife will need to travel to Edmonton before or during their 37th week of pregnancy. They have been told to expect to be in Alberta's capital city, some 1,400 kilometres south, for three to five weeks.
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority is providing medical travel support and is offering to work with families on determining other needs.
Williamson noted Alberta and the Northwest Territories have had a partnership and protocols in place since before the pandemic to offer medical aid this way.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.