When Masset nurse Judy Serdult saw her supervisor coming to her front door Friday afternoon, she thought it might have something to do with the islands "Health Care Employee of the Year" award she had just won at Hospital Day.Instead, she was handed a layoff notice. After working at the Masset hospital for almost three years, after buying property and making her home in the community, Ms Serdult was suddenly informed that Northern Health no longer needs her.The decision has left her reeling. Currently on holiday, Ms Serdult said she has no idea what she will do next. All she knows is that without her job, it will likely be impossible to stay on the islands."I can't afford to stay in Masset," she said. "I came up here on the condition that I have a job."Another local nurse, Mary Isaacs, was also laid off on Friday. Ms Isaacs has worked at the hospital for almost five years and has been active in the community with the Lions, the Legion and the Heritage Housing Society.Ms Isaacs said the decision has left her in shock. She and her husband, who is retired from the RCMP, had made Masset their home - but now she may have to seek work off-island."When I came to Masset, I fell in love with this community," she said. "I work because I love what I do. Every day I go to work with a smile on my face."Masset physician Dr. Harvey Thommasen said the decision to lay off the two licenced practical nurses (or LPNs) was an unwelcome surprise, especially given the fact that Masset has had difficulty recruiting nurses recently."From our physician perspective, they are two very valuable nurses," Dr. Thommasen said. "They're among our best nurses because they know the community."He said that having staff at the hospital who know the patients and their families is important, both to the patients and to the doctors. The temporary RNs who are flown up to work in Masset for short periods of time don't know where anything is stored and can't provide the personal connection that local nurses do."From our perspective, it's just a tragedy, it's just sad," he said.Dr. Thommasen and his colleague Dr. Michele Leslie both said they were never consulted about the staffing change, although Dr. Thommasen said he wasn't especially surprised about that because Northern Health never consults the physicians.In an email, Dr. Leslie said Ms Serdult and Ms Isaacs "are treasured members of the team who have significantly contributed to the quality of care for Masset patients, in great part because they KNOW people - know their context and are invested in the community and in people's well-being. I feel left utterly out of the loop and unconsulted."Sheila Gordon-Payne, Northern Health's new health service administrator for Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii, said the decision to discontinue the LPN positions was made some time ago and should not have been a surprise."My background on this is that for over two years it has been the plan not to continue the LPN positions forever," she said. "My information was everyone has been talking about this for two years so it was not going to be a surprise."After spending the day in Masset on Monday, Ms Gordon-Payne said obviously it was more of a surprise than she had been told it would be. She said she has already apologized to Masset mayor Barry Pages, and apologizes to staff over any miscommunication.The decision was made because the eight-bed Masset hospital is overstaffed compared to other hospitals in the area, she said. It has been staffed with two RNs and one LPN 24 hours a day. In contrast, the Queen Charlotte hospital, with twice as many beds, has two RNs for 24 hours and a part-time care aide. The layoffs will bring the Masset staffing to two RNs for 24 hours and one LPN on the day shift.The decision to lay off the two LPNs was made now because Northern Health is reviewing all spending, Ms Gordon-Payne said, and because there is work available in the Masset area for the two laid-off nurses."We have local positions for those LPNs," she said, adding that the nurses should have been told that when they received their displacement notices. "There are two to three other positions for those employees to look at."Ms Gordon-Payne said she was aware that Ms Serdult had just won the employee of the year award. Unfortunately, when it comes to layoffs, there are union rules to follow and Northern Health doesn't consider who the employees are, she said.She admitted that the Masset hospital continues to have to staff its RN positions through a temp agency, which is extremely expensive. However, she said, it is not possible replace the RN positions with the LPNs because they are completely different kinds of nurses.