The hospital in Shaunavon will be closing on Monday night because there are no nurses to cover the shift.

This will be the third time in a month that the Shaunavon Hospital will be closed due to a lack of nurses. Temporary hospital closures are yet another example of how the shortage of rural nurses is affecting healthcare in the province.

Bryce Martin with the Cypress Health Region said the doors will close at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night.

“In this case what will not be provided is that there will be no emergency outpatient services available, nor will there be any acute inpatient admissions available at the facility,”

Martin said the main challenge is to find registered nurses to cover shifts when others are sick or on vacation. He explained that they have made progress in bringing more nurses to rural Saskatchewan, but they still need to find more casual or part time help.

Martin added that new programs to attract nurses are helping, but the problem won't be fixed overnight.

For now when nurses aren’t available to cover shifts - people will have to drive to other hospitals for care. The closest hospitals are in Swift Current which is a 109 km drive from Shaunavon or Maple Creek a 134 km drive.

Edited by News Talk Radio’s Adriana Christianson