Anesthesiologist heading to Yarmouth, but start date is unknown

There's help heading to Yarmouth, N.S., to address the shortage of anesthesiologists at the local hospital.

The Nova Scotia Health Authority said a new recruit has been found and a Band-Aid solution that provides coverage has been extended in the meantime.

The Yarmouth Regional Hospital ended up in a tough position earlier this year when three of its four anesthesiologists left.

When it hired a replacement, the remaining specialist announced he was also leaving the hospital, bringing their staffing level back to one.

The health authority warned the community that some procedures could be affected, including the delivery of babies.

Pregnant women were told they might have to travel at least two hours to Bridgewater if there was no coverage while they were in labour.

Short-term coverage fix

Shortly after that warning went out, the health authority arranged for anesthesiologists from other areas to go to Yarmouth on a temporary basis. That short-term coverage was supposed to end July 31, but the health authority said it has been extended until the end of August.

"We want our patients to know they should continue to access services at Yarmouth Regional Hospital as they would normally," the health authority said in a statement.

That buys the health authority time as it works on bringing a new physician to the area. While details are limited, the health authority said the new recruit is a foreign-trained physician who was initially supposed to be part of a new assessment process through Dalhousie University.

But the health authority said the physician actually qualifies for a different, faster program and will be able to obtain their licence to work in Nova Scotia.

There is no start date yet for the doctor.

Community recruitment efforts

In the meantime, the community's chamber of commerce is aggressively trying to find more permanent help.

It recently travelled to a national meeting for anesthesiologists in Calgary, where the recruitment team made dozens of connections with people who are interested in working in the area.

With paperwork and licensing requirements, it can take one to two years to recruit and hire a doctor.