Fredericton emergency department only accepting urgent cases this weekend

The Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital emergency department in Fredericton is facing a shortage of physician coverage this weekend.

The emergency department will be open, but they are prioritizing urgent cases, and it is not the only hospital facing staff shortages.

The Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Joseph de Saint-Quentin emergency department is also reducing its hours for non-urgent care.

New Brunswick's opposition leader is calling for change.

"We know that the pediatric unit in Miramichi is closed, we know that the ophthalmologist and obstetric in Campbellton has been closed,” says Roger Melanson. “We know the birth unit at Perth-Andover has been closed, we know that the ER in Sackville, Moncton Hospital and George Dumont in Sussex has been very challenging.”

The summer slow down for New Brunswick hospitals has been exacerbated by staff shortages and the pandemic.

"We have been putting strategies in place to ensure essential services will continue and are maintained and critical cases needing emergency care will be seen,” says New Brunswick Medical Society president Dr. Mark MacMillan.

Reductions in hours and department closures are a direct result of staff shortages and the need to take vacation to stave off burnout.

"Right now, it’s not a safe situation to be in with our nurses working the amounts of overtime that they have been,” says New Brunswick Nurses Union president Paula Doucet.

Wait times for services, surgeries and procedures will slow down over the summer.

"We have such a huge lack of human resources, and the fact that we're still dealing with the outcomes of this pandemic. There are wait times that are going to be impacted by this,” says Doucet.

Retention issues due to burnout is just one of the reasons service interruptions have been made for the summer.

"We aren't going to be able to retain those who have worked really hard over the last two and a half years if we don't allow them that time for some personal breaks. They need some time for their own mental health,” says Dr. MacMillan.

Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Joseph de Saint-Quentin will close their emergency department from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. until July 31.

"We've never seen the healthcare system in the province of New Brunswick in a worse shape,” says Melanson. “It’s not the fault of the employees, it's totally the government. Because the plan, when it came out six months ago, there was zero mention of retaining and recruiting healthcare professionals.”

In an email to CTV News Friday night, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said she is "very concerned" about staffing shortages and service disruptions in New Brunswick hospitals.

"The regional health authorities are responsible for staffing and they know the Department of Health is ready to assist in any capacity to address these recent vacancies," said Shephard.