Staffing shortages, hospital closures to blame for long wait times at Maritime emergency departments
Staffing shortages, hospital closures to blame for long wait times at Maritime emergency departments
Staffing shortages, hospital closures to blame for long wait times at Maritime emergency departments
Longer than usual wait times are being felt at emergency departments across the Maritimes this long weekend.
“It's very busy in there today and unfortunately, we're currently experiencing what we call 'bed block,' where we have a large number of admitted patients and nowhere to send them,” said Dr. Margaret Fraser, a physician at Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Sydney, N.S.
Nova Scotia Health says people should expect long wait times in all four health zones because of high demand during the long-weekend.
Fraser says hospital closures and staffing shortages are big factors.
“We're working short-staffed. It's a holiday weekend, and usually we'd have seven physicians on and we've been able to do that recently, but yesterday and today we're working with six physicians only,” said Fraser.
In New Brunswick, emergency department closures are becoming a common concern due to a lack of nurses to cover shifts.
The emergency department of Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, N.B., is asking the public to limit their visits for the entire weekend - except in cases of an actual emergency.
"We can't have a nurse or physician work 24-hours a day, seven days a week. It's not safe and it's also not safe for the physician or nurse," said Dr. Mark MacMillan, the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society.
"It's been a very trying time over the last two-and-a-half years and people do need some time away."
Back in Nova Scotia, the provincial health authority also says there have been too many cases where staff has faced abusive language and behaviour and that’s adding to recruitment and retention challenges.
“I've had a chair thrown at me myself,” said Fraser.
The Cape Breton Regional Hospital's emergency department is currently the only one open in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality this weekend.
Fraser says, on Saturday alone, some nurses needed a mental break because of the verbal abuse.
“Patients are becoming increasingly frustrated with how the system is working and understandably, but what is not understandable, they are taking it out on the nurses, the doctors and other staff. I've seen a number of nurses in tears the last couple of days and that's not acceptable,” she said.
Emergency departments are open 24-hours a day, seven days a week at regional hospitals and at the QEII in Halifax.
Nova Scotia Health says people should not hesitate to visit an emergency department if they have an emergency.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed. Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
At the age of 13, Wyatt Sharpe has interviewed the prime minister, a premier, party leaders and cabinet ministers -- and he's not even in high school yet.
Donald Trump was being questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's long-running civil investigation into his business dealings as a flurry of legal activity surrounds the former U.S. president.
The ingredients in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have finally been identified, revealing new secrets about metallurgy in ancient China.
Ontario is set to introduce legislation today to give large municipal leaders so-called strong mayor powers as a way to get housing built more quickly.
The Progressive Conservative government has said that recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) will start receiving their five per cent increases in September.
Tenants living at the Mont-Carmel seniors' residence say they're concerned their landlord is not obeying a court ruling that states the building must primarily house people of a certain age.
Major health care unions in Quebec are claiming victory following a ruling that states the Health Ministry 'negotiated in bad faith' when offering bonuses to employees without consulting union representatives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If Edmonton does go ahead with a new gondola over the North Saskatchewan River, a local businessman has a grand idea for what to surround it with on the southern edge of the valley.
Six of the seven United Conservative Party candidates vying for the party's leadership will discuss education spending, policy and the future of teaching in Alberta with teachers from across the province Wednesday afternoon.
One lane of Highway 144 has reopened between the Greater Sudbury communities of Lively and Chelmsford d after a head-on crash between a transport and a pickup truck early Wednesday morning.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
An ICU physician is criticizing Ont. Premier Doug Ford's throne speech, saying the government 'has no plan' to help health-care workers and may not believe 'there's any type of crisis' in the province's overburdened hospital system.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
London was treated to a gorgeous sunrise early Wednesday morning, and that is kicking off picturesque weather for the day. But slightly below average temperatures are expected later in the week.
Three incumbent Ottawa city councillors are just over a week away from another term at city hall, even though the election isn't for another two and a half months.
Ontario is set to introduce legislation today to give large municipal leaders so-called strong mayor powers as a way to get housing built more quickly.
Patients and doctors alike are feeling the effects of a turbulent health-care system, where clinic closures have B.C.'s physicians weighing their options as their orphaned patients plead to be seen by a shrinking number of general practitioners.
Several police officers were allegedly assaulted Tuesday in the Downtown Eastside, amid heightened tensions in the neighbourhood as crews were dismantling a tent city.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
With less than a month to go before kids are back in school, Vancouver Island families are preparing for September. But, the price of school supplies and clothes this year is going up.
Five unions representing more than 5,000 UVic staff have reignited a petition asking the university to reconsider a planned change from annual to monthly parking passes.
