An emergency room at a Gray County hospital will be temporarily closed this weekend due to staff shortages.
South Bruce Gray Health Center (SBGHC) says the emergency department at its Durham site will be closed from 5pm on Saturday 6 August until 7am on Sunday 7 August and from 5pm on Sunday 7 August until 7 a.m. on Monday, August 8.
“All efforts to locate staff for the Emergency Department have been unsuccessful,” SBGHC wrote in a statement on its website.
“We appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as we continue to experience significant staffing pressures.” This is a temporary measure and we regret that this step has to be taken.
SBGHC said the emergency departments at Durham Hospital are:
-
Hannover (20 km)
-
Mount Forest (25 km)
-
Markdale (28 km)
-
Walkerton (28 km)
-
Chesley (36 km)
-
Owen Sound (46 km)
-
Palmerston (46 km)
The hospital network said it had previously identified possible risks of service cuts if staffing problems continued.
“SBGHC identified that there was a risk of future, time-limited reductions in service when Chesley’s emergency department reopened last month if the health human resources (HHR) situation worsened further,” SBGHC wrote.
SBGHC said anyone requiring immediate medical attention should call 911 to be taken to the nearest emergency room or contact Health Connect Ontario for non-emergency health needs by calling 811 .
Over the past few months, emergency rooms across the province have been closing due to a shortage of healthcare workers, with burnout from the COVID-19 pandemic often cited as a contributing factor.
Yesterday, Montfort Hospital in Ottawa’s east end announced that their emergency department will be temporarily closed overnight this weekend as the hospital deals with an “unprecedented shortage” of nurses.
The emergency department will be closed Saturday and Sunday between 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. The temporary closure will remain in effect until Monday at 7:30 a.m.
On Friday, unions representing 120,000 hospital workers renewed their calls for the provincial government to take immediate action to address the growing staffing crisis.
Unions want the province to repeal legislation that caps public sector wage increases at one per cent, introduce new financial incentives to discourage retirement and invest in on-the-ground supports such as daycare.
Earlier this week, Ontario Health executive vice-president Dr. Chris Simpson told CP24 that the staffing shortage affecting hospitals has become a “crisis.”
Premier Doug Ford said earlier this week that Ontarians continue to have access to care when they need it, but reiterated calls for more financial support from the federal government to address the worker shortage.
With files from CTV News’ Josh Pringle
Add Comment