(YELLOWKNIFE (July 7, 2025) – The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) is pleased to share that a new, temporary summer shift bidding system aimed at strengthening physician coverage in the Emergency Department (ED) at Stanton Territorial Hospital (STH) has been rolled out as part of overall contingency measures as previously shared.

This new system is designed to attract and recruit locum physicians for high-demand periods between July 15, 2025 and September 2, 2025. This timeframe is a peak period for staffing needs at STH ED, as many staff physicians request time off and locums are typically scheduled to work in other areas.

Late last week, this information was shared through a callout for bids with existing and potential NTHSSA locum physicians. The bidding system will offer greater flexibility and enhanced compensation opportunities for locum physicians choosing to work these critical summer shifts.

“This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to listening to staff and stakeholders and put their ideas into action to see what might work best to support our needs,” said Dan Florizone, Public Administrator. “This is a new initiative that may evolve over time, but we welcome the opportunity to implement it quickly to meet immediate needs and learn as we go.”

This plan, which reflects feedback from staff and stakeholders such as the Northwest Territories Medical Association, to do more to incentivise locums, has been approved for use at STH ED due to its unique operational situation as the referral site and entry point for higher levels of care for residents of the Northwest Territories (NWT) and Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut.

Dr. Claudia Kraft, Territorial Medical Director shared that this initiative is in direct response to feedback. “We’ve listened closely to the needs of our healthcare professionals and continue to hear about the importance of competitive compensation for locums while ensuring flexibility for our staff physicians, particularly during the summer months," she said. "It’s also about ensuring that those working are not burdened with long hours or excessive back-to-back shifts. We want our ED to continue to be a place of work that is attractive to physicians. I know that being a part of a team delivering high-quality care, with the right fit of compensation and benefits matters greatly to staff physician and locums alike.”

The goal is that by implementing this initiative, which is just one of many contingency measures at our disposal to ensure continuity of service at STH ED, the NTHSSA is better able to match locum physicians to critical shift periods to support quality care, manage workloads, and avoid service reductions or extreme measures like extended shifts or cancelled leave.

If you are a locum physician interested in more information about this initiative, please visit www.practicenwt.ca/en/physician-careers.

For media requests, please contact:

NTHSSA Communications
nthssacomms@gov.nt.ca
(867) 767-9107 ext. 40116