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Medical Staff Association president raise "significant concerns" surrounding acute care at Whitehorse General

Thursday, 27 February 2025 at 10:40

By Stuart Bonell X @BonellStuart

Whitehorse General Hospital in Whitehorse, YT (Photo: Yukon Hospitals, Facebook)

Health leaders respond with intended actions to improve recruitment and address staffing shortages.

Yukon Hospital Corporation medical staff have shared what they call “significant concerns” regarding provision of acute care at Whitehorse General Hospital with the territory’s health minister.

In a letter obtained by CHON-FM, Medical Staff Association President Dr. Graham Kopjar tells Minister of Health and Social Services Tracy-Anne McPhee that the Yukon is falling behind in physician recruitment.

In an email statement, Cabinet Communications said, “Across Canada, health care systems are under strain. […] We look forward to introducing a budget next week that will contain historic levels of funding to help alleviate some of the challenges that the Yukon's health care workers and patients are experiencing.”

The strain on health care systems, while universal, does have real impacts on patient care. Between February 22 and 23, Delta Hospital in southern B.C. closed its emergency room twice due to a lack of staff. Fortunately, Delta residents can reach 11 other hospitals by car in under an hour, with the nearest alternative just 16 kilometres away in Richmond.

As a result of the staffing shortage, Whitehorse General Hospital has only 12 of the 16 physicians it needs to run the emergency department’s five shifts per day at minimum capacity. According to Dr. Kopjar’s letter to Minister McPhee, those doctors are already working extra shifts to keep the emergency department open. If Whitehorse’s ER were to close for any amount of time, the next two closest hospitals are over four hours away by car, with the nearest alternative 439 kilometres away in Watson Lake.

In a response to the concerns raised by Whitehorse doctors, leadership from the Department of Health and Social Services, Yukon Medical Association, and Yukon Hospital Corporation announced steps to address staffing shortages in the short term, including a pressure period premium of $1000 per day on shift for physicians providing hospitalist care between February 26 and April 1, and a travel day stipend for locums.

Their letter also outlines steps to improve recruitment, including additional funding, incentives, an expression of interest, and engagement with hospitalists.

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