Shelburne emergency care a commitment says Health Minister Leo Glavine

Health Minister Leo Glavine says he's committed to providing emergency care in Shelburne, as residents grapple with a hospital emergency room that frequently closes.

Glavine said "it's imperative to have some level of emergency care" at Roseway Hospital, because when the ER is closed, residents must travel at least 50 minutes to the closest hospital in either Yarmouth or Bridgewater.

"We need some form of 'urgy' care," the minister said. "It may not be the highest level as at regional hospitals but we do need to be able to have life-saving means in Shelburne and we're committed to that."

Resident and ER advocate Don Bower is not taking comfort from the minister's comments.

"I don't have a clue as to what 'urgy' care means," Bower said.

He thinks it means "something less than we've got now otherwise he would say he is going to restore full ER services at the Roseway Hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

"Urgy care is obviously something less than that," he said.

Meeting held last month

Bower wonders if it means an ambulance and paramedics would provide emergency care.

Hundreds of residents of Shelburne County attended a meeting last month to discuss their concerns about the frequent ER closures.

The hospital has been downgraded over the years to the point where surgery is no longer performed and there are no babies delivered there.

Many worry the hospital will be shut down altogether.

The ER closures are often blamed on a shortage of nurses.

Glavine is hoping a new class of registered nurse graduates from Dalhousie University's satellite campus in Yarmouth may solve that problem. If not, he says they'll have to look at other means to attract nurses to the area.

The minister says a new nursing strategy will be released in May that will contain long-term solutions to the problem.

As for the short term, the minister has not set a deadline for fixing the problem.