'Extremely concerning': Glace Bay ER closed for almost a year due to staffing shortages
The emergency department at the Glace Bay Hospital has been closed since July 2021, and it’s unclear when it will reopen.
“It's very concerning. It's probably one of the questions being asked in the community these days,” said David MacKeigan, president of Bay It Forward, a local community group that has helped attract doctors to the community in the past.
“The longer it's closed, the harder it's going to be to reopen,” he said.
The only ER currently operating in Cape Breton Regional Municipality is at the island's largest hospital in Sydney, N.S.
“The emergency department in Glace Bay, in the proposal that was made by the Liberals under Stephen McNeil, was supposed to be expanded and kept open, and instead it has closed and has had a disastrous effect on the Regional,” said Cape Breton physician Dr. Margaret Fraser.
Fraser says upwards of 150 patients a day have registered at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Sydney.
“Glace Bay really does need to reopen. There needs to be some other option for emergency care. There needs to be a community emergency department,” she said.
A spokesperson for Nova Scotia Health says their goal is to keep the ER in Glace Bay open, once staffing levels stabilize.
“It's extremely concerning. People shouldn't have to second guess where they're going for emergency care,” said Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative MLA John White.
One of White’s campaign promises was to keep the hospital in Glace Bay open.
“I can assure you that every effort is being made to reopen the ER,” he said.
Nova Scotia Health says three physicians have recently been hired to work in Sydney, but there are still 20 nursing vacancies.
Nearly a year after it closed, there's still no firm date on when the ER department in Glace Bay will reopen.
Correction
This is a corrected article. A previous version incorrectly stated that the Glace Bay ER has been closed for almost two years, instead of one.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.