The Interior Health Authority is ensuring expecting mothers can be taken in at the hospital in Williams Lake in urgent cases.

An agreement has been reached with the BC Nurses Union for minimal staffing at the Cariboo Memorial Hospital, according to IHA West executive director of hospitals David Matear.

“Informally, we had been working with nursing staff to ensure that we had cover for our shifts in March, so those were already covered informally. But now reaching an agreement, which means that formally we have an agreement on a rotation between April and the end of June,” Matear says.

“Which is a predictable rotation for staff, so it’s much more acceptable to staff in that they know when they’re going to be on shift, but also covers their shifts during that period of time.”

Maternal services were cut at CMH three weeks ago due to an unexpected staffing shortage, and may not be fully restored until the end of June. IHA has said that maternal nurses being recruited will be done training by then and ready to begin working there.

Most expecting mothers in the area are currently being referred elsewhere, mostly to Royal Inland in Kamloops. Still, Matear says seven mothers have given birth at CMH in the past three weeks under urgent circumstances.