'We were caught off guard': Sackville, N.B. hospital closes emergency room on weekends
Emergency room services will once again be reduced in Sackville, N.B., taking many in the community by surprise.
The health authority announced the Sackville Memorial Hospital will shut down its emergency department overnight on weekends as a temporary solution to its staffing concerns.
Newly elected Sackville Mayor Shawn Mesheau says he was unaware of the decision.
"First of all, we were caught off guard," says Mesheau.
According to executive director Nancy Parker, starting Friday, the emergency room will temporarily close each Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. and resume regular daytime services at 8 a.m.
During that time, anyone seeking medical attention will be directed to a different hospital, with the closest being 40 minutes away in Moncton.
The closure is due to staffing shortages. There are nine full-time registered nurse positions available on the unit and currently, only six are filled.
"As we enter the summer, it certainly brings new challenges to us. We have to balance our responsibilities to provide health care, with the need to provide staff with a reasonable amount of vacation time," says Geri Geldart, vice president of clinical at Horizon Health Network
The decision comes more than a year after Premier Blaine Higgs announced six emergency departments across the province would be closed overnight. He ultimately scrapped the decision a week later.
“We cannot keep an ER open if we do not have a safe number of staff members to provide the care there. It is dangerous, not just for the patients, but it is dangerous for the staff," says Health Minister Dorothy Shephard.
New Brunswick Green party leader David Coon says he's "extremely disappointed" that the province has gone back on its promise, and "the minister of health didn't find a way to ensure those ERs would be able to operate."
But for Mesheau, it's not that simple.
"We have to take politics out of healthcare. This isn’t about politics and broken promises, this is about the health of the people in our community," says Mesheau.
Shepard says it's possible other rural communities will see their emergency room services cut short as well.
There has been no date set for when the Sackville closures may come to an end. Horizon Health says it will depend on the success of recruitment to the area.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.