N.S. doctors say trickle-down effects of ER closures make their jobs a nightmare
The Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Sydney is the only emergency department open in the CBRM right now, which is leading to higher than normal registration numbers and more demand on staff.
"On the nursing side, I can't tell you how many times I’ve come across my nursing colleagues in a closet crying. They're just finding it very difficult to cope with the volumes and patient demands," says Dr. Margaret Fraser, a physician in Sydney.
Cape Breton is not alone. Nova Scotia Health says many elective and same-day surgeries will be put on hold until at least the end of next week in the central zone that includes Halifax.
The northern zone has also been dealing with staffing challenges, which the province says has been made more difficult by the pandemic.
The provincial co-ordinator of the Nova Scotia Coalition says the health system was already stretched before the pandemic hit. Chris Parsons says to be fair to the PC government; it's too early for them to make any significant changes.
"That said, we've had all three major parties in power over the last 15 years and none of them fixed this problem, all of them exacerbated," added Parsons.
John White is the MLA for a community that has seen their emergency room closed for most of the summer. There's no clear time table on when the doors of the Glace Bay ER department will reopen.
"The health care tour is going across the province and we're going to meet with frontline workers. We know that when you speak with frontline workers you get better policies," says White.
Two anesthetists and a psychiatrist have signed job offers to practice in Cape Breton and two family doctors are staying in Halifax, but doctor Fraser says more help is needed.
"If you're working a 10-, 12-, or 14-hour shift with no end in sight you get very tired, despite your best efforts, mistakes will creep in," noted Fraser.
Nova Scotia Health expects people will continue to see longer than normal wait times in emergency departments into the fall.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.