The Interior Health Authority says it will likely be about a month at least before service for expecting mothers is restored at the hospital in Williams Lake.

A shortage of maternity staff forced IHA to cut the service for now at the Cariboo Memorial Hospital.

IHA West’s executive director for hospitals and communities, David Matear, says there will be seven new nurses starting at the hospital this year which will fill the long term need.

“So really the immediate plan of how do we deal with a couple of unexpected absences, which has reduced our specialty nursing complement below the level we’re able to sustain that 24-7 inpatient nursing care.”

Matear says short-term, IHA is trying to redeploy nurses from other cities, and says the hospital’s maternity services could be back as soon as late March, or as late as June.