Multiple New Brunswick emergency departments close as long weekend begins
It's becoming all too routine in New Brunswick, emergency room closures were announced again over the holiday weekend.
The Sackville Memorial Hospital closed again Friday due to a shortage of doctors to operate the department according to Horizon Health Network.
"It's always concerning," said Sackville Mayor Shawn Mesheau.
"I think it's not just on holidays its any time as everyone's aware I think we're 8:00 – 4:00, seven days a week in our emergency department," Mesheau said.
The emergency department of Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton is asking the public to limit visits for the entire weekend - except in cases of an actual emergency.
Vitalite Health Network cites nursing shortages for the closure.
The first long weekend of summer has doctors concerned for the incidents that go along with it.
"Dehydration, alcohol consumption, boating which needs to be thought about, there's also more of a risk to our under serviced populations and at risk groups," said NBMS President Dr, Mark MacMillan.
Staffing shortages and giving healthcare workers a rest to recharge is leaving emergency departments with their hands tied.
"We can't have a nurse or physician work 24 hours a day seven days a week," Dr. Macmillan said.
"It's not safe and it's also not safe for the physician or nurse it's been a very trying time over the last two and a half years and people do need some time away," he said.
The Sackville Memorial Hospital emergency department is slated to reopen at 8 a.m. Saturday.
While late Friday afternoon, Horizon Health announced Sussex Health Center's ER will be closed for all of Saturday.
"There's a large meeting just happened this past Wednesday, with all kinds of stakeholders at the table so you are going to see some things moving forward," said Dr. MacMillan.
"There is a vacancy in the department of health for recruitment so they have to hire a recruiter for the recruitment so that's an ongoing process," he said.
Communities are coming together with health authorities to figure out solutions and recruit healthcare workers.
"When you talk about attracting people into a community when you're trying to fill these positions there's a lot of things that go with it," Mesheau said.
"It's not just the job it's where you're living," he said.
New Brunswick is not alone. On Prince Edward Island, the CEO of PEI Health is advising residents to expect longer than average wait times at island emergency rooms due to staffing shortages over the long weekend.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.