Recruitment and Retention of Technologists an Issue

Friday, November 24, 2006 04:00 AM

The shortage of professionals continues to be a challenge for Northern Health, although this time it isn’t physicians.

The shortage of qualified staff to operate ultra sound, CT scanners or the MRI means waiting times for those tests are much longer than Northern Health would like to see. CEO Malcolm Maxwell says Northern Health will be spending some more dollars to try and reduce those wait times. "It is a small group" says Maxwell "So when you lose two of the people who do ultra sounds, that is a loss of 40% of all the ultra sounds being done in the region and its a long time to recruit, it leaves you with a bit of a gap."

Maxwell says efforts are being made to have a lab technician training program through CNC which will increase the number of qualified people who can do blood tests and so forth, but they will also talk with a number of institutions to see if there can be an expansion of programs for the training of diagnostic equipment specialists.

In the meantime, the technicians already on staff will be asked if they would like to work some overtime.

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