COVID-19 sidelines nurses, doctors at three N.B. emergency departments, causing temporary closures

New Brunswick's Horizon Health Network is having to close emergency departments in Oromocto, Sackville and Sussex over the next several days because of a shortage of staff due to COVID-19.

The closures begin with Oromocto, where the hospital’s emergency department will close Friday, reopening Saturday morning at 8 a.m.

Sussex Health Centre’s emergency department will be closed during the evening and night shifts Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The Sackville Memorial Hospital’s emergency department will be closed all day Saturday and Sunday, reopening Monday morning at 8 a.m.

Patients requiring care will have to go to other hospitals and ambulances will also be diverted.

The network says it’s due to staffing shortages because a number of staff – including nurses and doctors – have come down with COVID-19.

“We are actively working to recruit physicians and nurses to reduce temporary closures and resume services to the communities we serve,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Horizon remains committed to providing safe and quality care, and the decision to temporarily close the ER is made to ensure safe care for our patients and clients.”

ER SHIFT REQUIREMENT REMOVED

Sackville, in particular, has been experiencing a number of emergency department closures over the last several weeks.

Dr. Jody Enright, Horizon’s medical director in the Moncton and Sackville areas, says two physicians have recently stopped working at the Sackville emergency department to focus on their family practices.

“In recognition of the rapidly changing nature of the medical profession, we recently removed a condition that required family physicians to work shifts in the ER at Horizon’s Sackville Memorial Hospital (SMH),” she said in a statement.

“This condition has presented a significant barrier to our recruitment efforts in Sackville, as very few candidates are interested in managing a family practice while also taking on additional duties in the ER.”

Enright said some physicians who are nearing retirement also expressed concern about the requirement. She said Horizon is hoping that, by removing the requirement, more doctors can be recruited to that area.

“We continuously advertise available emergency department shifts to physicians throughout the region who may have interest. Interest, however, has been limited due to limited physician resources throughout the health-care system,” she said.

“This is why we are aggressively targeting physicians with a specific interest in emergency medicine in our efforts to attract talent who can help stabilize emergency services at SMH.”