Holiday health-care crunch prompts some N.B. ER advisories, overnight closures

A high number of patients, high bed-occupancy rates and staffing challenges have made for a long wait in some New Brunswick emergency rooms — and one closure — over the holidays.

In Fredericton, a Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital emergency doctor took to social media to warn people of long wait times Thursday night.

"The DECH ER is jammed up and while we are trying to see those that are immediately life- or limb-threatening, almost everyone else will likely not get seen until the morning," Dr. Yogi Sehgal said in a social media post at around 7 p.m. Thursday.

In an update at 2 a.m., he said some logistical work and administrative decisions slightly alleviated the backlog.

"We have a somewhat functional ER again, although waits will still be extremely long," he said.

In northern New Brunswick, the Vitalité Health Network is asking the public to avoid emergency rooms in Campbellton and Caraquet, "except in urgent cases."

"People who come to the Emergency for non-urgent reasons should be patient and expect much longer than usual wait times," the advisory said.

In Caraquet, 12 of 13 beds are occupied, and in Campbellton, there are eight more patients than its 10-bed capacity, the advisory stated.

In Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, about 60 kilometres north of Moncton, the ER at Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital will be closed overnight.

An advisory says the emergency department would be closed between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. from Dec. 27 until Jan. 2.

"This change is due to a critical shortage of nursing staff," according to the advisory.

The closest other emergency room is in Moncton, a roughly 40-to-50-minute drive away.

Holidays add to fluctuating capacity

The Chalmers falls under Horizon Health Network, which has not issued an advisory to the public. 

Greg Doiron, vice-president of clinical operations, urged people "to consider their health care option" before coming to the emergency room.

"Non-urgent medical needs, such as a cough or sore throat, flu symptoms, prescription refills, earaches, headaches etc. are best treated in other settings," he said.

He said hospital capacity varies from day-to-day, especially during the holidays.

Alternatives to the emergency room include a primary care professional or a pharmacist. Medicare also covers eVisitNB, an online 24/7 platform that connects users with a doctor or nurse practitioner for a virtual appointment.

In Fredericton, the Urgent Treatment Centre at Brookside Mall offers care to patients experiencing "unexpected non-life-threatening illnesses or injuries requiring urgent, same-day medical attention."

The clinic is open two days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays. Doiron said hours of service will be expanding "in the months ahead."