Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops

(ASHLEY LEGASSIC - REPORTER / iNFOnews.ca)

A nurse in Kamloops received a surprising email from the vice-president of clinical operations for Interior Health North yesterday, May 19.

The email is titled Urgent Staffing Response: Call for volunteer Redeployment to Kamloops.

“It went out to all Interior Health employees,” said the nurse, who will not be identified.

The email calls for available health care staff within the Interior Health Authority willing to travel to work in Kamloops this weekend, and coming weeks. It is the first urgent staffing shortage email the nurse has received.

“We are currently experiencing a shortage of staff at Kamloops- Royal Inland Hospital (RIH),” the email said. “To stabilize services over the May long weekend and coming weeks, we are looking for temporary redeployment of staff to RIH.

“Interior Health Employees, especially registered nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses and Care Aides are needed.

To express your interest in being redeployed, please provide your information through the IH Urgent Staffing Response submission form.

Once you have submitted you will receive a confirmation of your submission. You may then be contacted to discuss redeployment options.

Required travel and accommodations will be arranged by the Urgent Response Team and will be in compliance with the IH Travel Policy. Redeployments of contract staff greater than or equal to 40 km from one’s home site will be eligible for a 1.5x pay premium on all regular hours worked.

Thank you for expressing your interest in this opportunity.”

READ MORE: Dangerous staffing crisis at Kamloops hospital years in the making

The nurse said the email has left them feeling skeptical of the authority.

“They are saying they are making things work and we are safe but we are asking other areas for help, this should have been done earlier. This should have been planned out ahead of time. Things are always done in crisis mode.”

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