Cape Breton ER closures continue to affect level of health-care services

Emergency department closures in Cape Breton continue to affect the level of health-care services. While some medical officials are trying to bridge the gap, others say more support is needed. 

For the first time in more than a year, the emergency department at the Glace Bay General Hospital will open two days a week.

In July 2021, the department closed due to the availability of physicians and staff, according to Nova Scotia Health.

“Having Glace Bay opened on Mondays and Tuesdays during the day has been a godsend. It's only been ongoing for two weeks, but we have seen a decrease in registration numbers for those two days,” said Dr. Margaret Fraser, a Sydney physician.

In Baddeck, N.S., the ER department is closed and there is some concern it could stay that way permanently, but Nova Scotia Health says it's only temporary.

“I would say when North Sydney closed it was temporary, when New Waterford closed it was temporary, when Glace Bay closed it was temporary. We've all seen that temporary can last for years or be forever,” said Fraser.

Pharmacist Graham Mackenzie says people in Baddeck are disappointed by the closure.

He has been offering expanded services at Stone’s Pharmasave to help with physician workload and give some patients access to care.

“We can do urinary tract infections, which is huge right now, we do a lot of urinary tract infections. We do birth control prescribing from scratch. If you have shingles we can write for that,” said MacKenzie.

The president of Doctors Nova Scotia says it’s important not to create a new silo of care.

Dr. Leisha Hawker says everything has to be done as a team, with patients having one record sheet, with more recruitment of physicians needed in the province.

“We still need to target about 100 physicians each year for the next decade or so to really make up the gap we currently have,” said Hawker.

The province says a new urgent treatment centre is now open in Baddeck and is a temporary move until more staff can be found.

“I have long defended the emergency department in Baddeck because if you look at geography of it between Sydney and Antigonish, the only emergency department that's located on that stretch of road is Baddeck,” said Fraser.