Contingency plans are being made in case recruitment efforts are not successful at hiring staff at the Kamsack Hospital laboratory.
“Vacant positions in the lab need to be filled and we’ve been recruiting,” said Roberta Wiwcharuk, vice-president of integrated health service for Sunrise Health Region.
Across Canada there is a shortage of medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) and currently it is difficult to recruit staff, Wiwcharuk said recently when she was asked about staffing concerns at the hospital lab.
She said the health region is recruiting and posting the positions and has had several interviews with MLTs, who either declined the offer or were not qualified.
“We are concerned and we want to assure the public that we will be continuing to offer laboratory service,” she said, explaining that staff members are working on contingencies if recruitment efforts continue to fail.
It could be that staff from a neighbouring facility might be able to work at the Kamsack lab, possibly other staff might be able to so some of the paperwork, allowing existing staff to proceed with their jobs or it might be that specimens would be transferred to Yorkton for analysis, she said. “We’re looking at what can be done if we don’t have a full complement of staff.”
Estimating that at least two positions at the lab must be filled, Wiwcharuk said that the health region is trying its best and wants to avoid service interruptions.
“We have intensified our recruitment efforts,” she said.
