Nunavut spends millions on temporary doctors
$11.5M spent over 20 months on short-term contracts at Iqaluit hospital
CBC News
Posted: Mar 13, 2013 8:50 AM CT
Last Updated: Mar 13, 2013 9:38 AM CT
The Government of Nunavut spends $2,100 per 12-hour shift for emergency room doctors on short-term contracts at Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit, according to documents obtained by CBC News. (CBC)
Related
The Government of Nunavut spent $11.5 million on temporary doctors at the territory’s only hospital over a 20-month period, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
From April 1, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2012, 120 doctors were hired for locum contracts at the Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit. A locum is a temporary doctor who is flown in when the hospital is short-staffed
Documents obtained by CBC News through an Access to Information request show more than a dozen contracts were for a week or less. The shortest was for three days at $6,000. Another was for four days at $10,000.
A locum emergency room doctor is paid $2,100 for one 12-hour shift, a contract obstetrician earns $2,500 for a 24-hour shift, and doctors working eight hours in the clinic earn $1,200.
Besides their contracts the temporary doctors are also provided with return airfare and housing.
Share Tools
Latest North News Headlines
- Agnico-Eagle worker found alive after blizzard
- A worker missing from Agnico-Eagle's Meliadine camp near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, was found alive late Thursday night, after weathering a potentially record-breaking blizzard. more »
- Sahtu board issues draft conditions for fracking project
- The Sahtu Land and Water Board has decided not to send a controversial drilling exploration project near Norman Wells, N.W.T., to an environmental assessment. more »
- Harper chief of staff resigns amid Senate expense scandal
- Nigel Wright has resigned as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, following revelations he wrote a $90,000 cheque to repay living expenses claimed by Senator Mike Duffy. more »
- Iqaluit man faces firearms charges
- David Kunuk, 41, has been charged with careless use of a firearm, improper use of a firearm and resisting arrest. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Harper chief of staff resigns amid Senate expense scandal
- Nigel Wright has resigned as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, following revelations he wrote a $90,000 cheque to repay living expenses claimed by Senator Mike Duffy. more »
- Jeep driver apologizes after stunt kills Edmonton woman
- A man claiming to be the driver of a Jeep that struck and killed a spectator at a charity event in Edmonton says he is sorry for what happened. more »
- Senior Pakistani politician Zahra Shahid shot dead
- Voting in Karachi goes ahead a day after gunmen killed a senior member of Imran Khan's Movement for Justice (PTI) party outside her home in Karachi. more »
- Saudi coronavirus work stymied at Canadian lab
- The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is working with a sample of the new coronavirus that's causing clusters of infections abroad - but can't share the material with other researchers across the country despite the public health urgency. more »
- Bell Mobility to appeal ruling in 911 lawsuit
- Yukon Electrical launches eagle cam in Whitehorse
- Agnico-Eagle worker found alive after blizzard
- Second eaglet shown on Whitehorse nest cam
- Sahtu board issues draft conditions for fracking project
- Whitehorse ski hill could be sustainable, says consultant
- RCMP crack down on road safety during long weekend
- Iqaluit man faces firearms charges
- Harper chief of staff resigns amid Senate expense scandal
