The provincial government is taking action to help “stabilize” some of the pressures being felt in rural health facilities.

There has been a steady stream of temporary rural ER closures across the province in recent months.

Compensation rates for covering ERs in smaller rural health centres have been increased as a temporary measure until the end of October to help retain existing physicians and attract other locum physicians to fill vacancies at Category B sites.

Premier Andrew Furey says the change comes following discussions with the NLMA who proposed the incentives.

They’re planning on implementing more longer-term solutions in the near future.

Furey says incentives are one of the levers they can use to “stop the bleed” as he put it.

The official launch of the provincial government’s new health care professionals’ recruitment and retention campaign will be held at the Mockbeggar Plantation in Bonavista tomorrow at 11:30.