20% of priority positions in Northern Health are vacant in rural, remote areas

Feb 15, 2023 | 12:57 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — According to a recent Northern Health report, over 20 percent of priority positions such as nurses and physiotherapists, in rural and remote areas in the north, are vacant.

Sandra Rossi, Regional Director of Recruitment and Retention says that even with a 20% baseline vacancy, it doesn’t mean that’s how many lines would be vacant if you walked into any Northern Health facility.

So far, Northern Health has posted 3971 non-casual positions in the 2022 fiscal year. 17% of postings become difficult to fill vacancies (DTFV), which are positions that remain unfilled for more than 90 days.

Rossi also says that provincially, nationally and internationally that there is a gap between supply and demand and that healthcare worker shortages are more than twice as high in rural and remote areas, which plays a significant impact on Northern Health as much of the region covers rural and remote areas of the North.

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Rossi also notes that recruitment alone will not fix the problem, and that retention will play a large role in helping keep job vacancies in the health authority down.

Also in the report, is that 55 percent of employment departures from Northern Health takes place within three years of employment.

by Adam Berls

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20% of priority positions in Northern Health are vacant in rural, remote areas

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