A new report from the Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia has some unsettling results.
“We looked to see if Northern Health was effectively recruiting and retaining enough registered nurses and nurse practitioners to fill the rural and remote positions identified in its 2016/17 Health Human Resources Plan,” explains Auditor General Carol Bellringer.
“We concluded that it was not.”
The report shows a number of factors contributed to the shortage including weather, isolation, limited amenities which are listed as reasons out of Northern Health’s control.
“As of last April, Northern Health was short 121 registered nurses or 15% of its rural and remote workforce,” Bellringer says.
“And more than a quarter of rural and remote nurse practitioner positions were unfilled.”
In Smithers, total registered nurses are short by 18 in relation to the forecasted demand. On the flip side, Burns Lake is actually seeing a surplus with five more than the forecasted demand.
The full report is available here.
9 recommendations in rural nursing report to address root causes of the shortage and close gap between good practice and current state. https://t.co/ZNJj70NpKp pic.twitter.com/DIQCvjvYxv
— B.C. Auditor General (@BCAuditorGen) February 22, 2018