NLNU president Debbie Forward said shortages at the Clarenville hospital are taking a toll on remaining staff. (CBC)

Chronic nursing shortages at the key hospital in eastern Newfoundland have meant closed beds and longer waits for service, a union official says.

As many as 18 nursing positions remain unfilled at Clarenville's G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital, said Debbie Forward, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union.

Forward said about 10 beds have been closed at the regional hospital for most of the last year because of ongoing staff shortages. Forward said working conditions for remaining staff have been difficult.

"There's sometimes 16- and 20-hour shifts being worked because there's no one available to come in to relieve a nurse," Forward said in an interview.

"That is taking its toll."

Pat Coish-Snow, a chief operating officer with Eastern Health, said six of the affected beds were used during the last week because of demand.

She said Eastern Health is focusing its recruitment efforts at Memorial University in St. John's, where the latest nursing class will graduate this spring.

"There are a number of nurses that will be taking positions in Clarenville," Coish-Snow told CBC News. "I can say that I already know that there are two of those that are definitely confirmed for Clarenville."

She said Eastern Health would like to have its recruitment issues in Clarenville resolved so that all of the closed beds can be reopened permanently in the fall.

Forward, though, said Clarenville is not the only town in Newfoundland and Labrador to have nursing shortages.

She said beds are closed in Grand Falls-Windsor, and similar staffing problems have been reported in Bonavista and St. John's.

Forward said there is a Catch-22 in hospital wards, as it is hard to recruit nurses for hospitals that already have staffing shortages.

"Then, people say, 'Well, I'm not going to go to work there.' But unless you get people to go to work there, you don't get out of that cycle," Forward said.

Forward said a contract reached in May 2009 is helping with recruitment. Under the deal, nurses receive wage hikes worth 21.5 per cent over four years, as well as hikes to starting and top salary scales.

Forward, though, said it would be even easier to fill vacant positions if regional health boards offered recruitment bonuses.