The provincial Health Minister is confident that there will be no gaps in service in internal medicine at St. Clare’s.

Five specialists at the hospital submitted letters of intent to resign in a few months, however Minister Krista Lynn Howell says negotiations between them and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services are continuing.

Memorial University had made the decision to withdraw medical residents in training from St. Clare’s effective July 1st. That, says the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, has created additional pressures for after-hours physician coverage in internal medicine at the hospital.

Minister Howell says NLHS has been working closely with the physician group to ensure a path forward regarding the issues such as safety in the workplace.