Sussex, N.B., man waits outside closed emergency room for ambulance

Last Saturday night Grant Jordan and his wife, Naomi, drove the five minutes from their home to the Health Centre in Sussex, N.B., desperate for help, that wasn’t there.

“The pain was bad enough at that point that I couldn’t stand up anymore, so I laid on the sidewalk at the hospital. Waiting for the ambulance,” Grant said.

The Sussex Emergency Department is currently operating under temporary hours and is open from 8 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. due to staffing restraints.

“I remember it being 8:48 when I got out of the car, I looked at the clock and I went in, knocked on the door because they had a little sign that said ‘we’re closed. Ring the intercom if you need something,’” Grant explained.

“I just knocked on the door because I didn’t see it and on the intercom. She said, ‘Can I help you with something?’ And I said ‘I’m pretty sure I’m having a heart attack.’ And she said ‘well we’re closed, but I can call 911 for you.’”

Grant was allowed to wait on a chair inside the hospital, but he had to go outside because he got uncomfortably hot. He said the closest ambulance was in Hampton, N.B., almost 40 kilometres away.

“Serious stuff like heart attacks and strokes and stuff, that’s all a matter of minutes,” said Naomi Jordan, who used to be an EMT. “Minutes count and as bad as this was, we didn’t really have those minutes to spare.”

While the Jordan’s waited for an ambulance, they said two staff from the Sussex hospital came out to offer Aspirin and nitroglycerin. They stayed with the Jordan’s until the paramedics were on scene.

Grant said the pain was radiating in his arms, elbows, ears and teeth and it felt like his chest was on fire.

“I was pretty nervous,” Grant said. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen there. I certainly wouldn’t wish it on anybody but that’s pain like I’ve never felt before.”

Grant said he received immediate treatment when he arrived in Saint John.

“I had 100 per cent blockage in that artery. They put in two stints in the same one and they basically said if I hadn’t of gotten there when I did, I would be dead,” he said.

At the end of August, Horizon Health Network said their long term goal is to restore 24/7 access to the emergency room. Officials said they would implement a blended care model that would support ER doctors with nurse practitioners, advance care paramedics, respiratory therapists and virtual care to improve coverage and services at the emergency department.

“With the Sussex hospital, it either needs to open up 24/7…or close it,” said Grant. “One hundred per cent close it completely, then there’s no question on what’s going to happen when something happens. You can either go to Sussex and get help or you know you’re calling 911 and going somewhere else.”

“Something’s got to change,” Naomi said. “I’ve never been so frightened in my life after having to deal with that, knowing that I was so powerless. I couldn’t do anything.”

CTV News reached out to Horizon Health Network about the incident, but is yet to receive a reply.

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