The announcement of the permanent closure of the operating room at the Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen, N.B. has sparked outrage in the community.

“People retire and move here with the expectation that they’re going to have a hospital – an OR,” says resident Margaret Monks.

“They told us that our hospital wasn’t going to be closing and now they’re closing the OR,” adds resident Joan Beaumaster.

The Horizon Health Network says the number of surgeries conducted at the hospital’s OR has been falling year after year.

In a statement on Wednesday, Horizon said: “The current volume of general surgeries last year was 65. In a fully functional OR, you would like to see between three to six surgeries per day.”

Five people are being laid off, due to closure of the hospital’s surgical program, including four nurses and one environmental service employee.

The closure received a lot of attention in the legislature on Thursday.

“For the people of Charlotte County, paying the increase to the HST will seem all that much more insulting,” says NB PC MLA Dorothy Shephard.

“The minister needs to set aside some funds to help people in Charlotte County travel to appointments in Fredericton and Saint John,” says NB Green Party leader David Coon.

The MLA for the area and Cabinet Minister says it wasn’t his decision, and he’s just as upset.

“This is certainly not a decision made by government,” says NB Tourism, Heritage, and Culture Minister John Ames. “It is certainly not a decision we planned for.”

Ames says the retirement of the area’s only surgeon precipitated the decision being made.

“I’m trying to ensure that they know that the Charlotte County Hospital will remain open,” says Ames. “That there are no decisions to make any services changed.”

There are still many doubts in the community.

“What happens next? What about dialysis? What about our ICU?” says resident Trudy Higgins.

Higgins lead a group against any cuts being made at the Charlotte County Hospital budget this past spring.

“Our hospital has been under the gun several times over the last several governments,” says Higgins.

Higgins says she’s focusing now on what, if anything, can be done to stop the OR closure – a closure scheduled to happen August 8th.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.