Anyone who was planning on getting a Caesarean section to assist in an upcoming birth at Inuvik Regional Hospital (IRH) is being informed the operating room will not offer those services from June 23 to 30.
Details of the service reduction were provided in a public service announcement released shortly before noon on June 23.
"Patients who were planning to give birth in Inuvik and have a planned C-section or are considered high risk and 36 weeks or more in their pregnancy during this time frame, will be contacted and advised to transfer their care to Stanton Territorial Hospital (STH) in Yellowknife," reads the unattributed NWT Health and Social Services notification.
Pre-and-post natal assessments and care will continue at IRH.
"Anyone in Inuvik who is pregnant and requires assessment or who goes into labour during this time is asked to please present to the IRH emergency department for care," the advisory reads.
Residents are also advised that unplanned surgeries due to emergencies or other circumstances may also require patients to be flown to Yellowknife due to the staffing shortage.
Maintaining adequate staffing levels has been an ongoing challenge for the NWT health authority. IRH has had to close its obstetrics unit several times in the last two years and Hay River was without an emergency room doctor for a week earlier this year.
