9 Nova Scotia emergency departments closed this weekend
'People can die when they don't have access to the services that they need,' says Shelburne mayor
Nine emergency departments in the province will be closing their doors for parts of the Natal Day long weekend.
Hospitals in New Waterford, Evanston, North Sydney, Glace Bay, Middle Musquodoboit, Lunenburg,Tatamagouche, Pugwash and Shelburne will have closures, some more than others, over the next three days.
Cape Breton closures:
- The emergency department at the New Waterford Consolidated Hospital will be closed from Saturday until Tuesday at 7 a.m.
- In Evanston, the Strait Richmond Hospital's emergency department will be closed from Saturday at 7:00 a.m. until Monday at 8:00 a.m.
- The Northside General Hospital's emergency department in North Sydney is closed until Sept. 4 at 8 a.m.
- The Glace Bay Hospital emergency department will be closed until Tuesday, Aug. 14 at 7 a.m.
Closures on the mainland:
- In Pugwash, the North Cumberland Collaborative Emergency Centre will closed Monday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
- In Lunenburg, the Fishermen's Memorial Hospital emergency department will be closed from Saturday at 7:30 a.m. until Sunday at 7:30 a.m.
- In Tatamagouche, the Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital Collaborative Emergency Centre will be closed overnight in August and September.
- In Shelburne, the Roseway Hospital emergency department will close Saturday at 6 p.m. and reopen on Monday at 8 a.m. It will close again on Monday at 6 p.m. and reopen on Tuesday at 7 a.m.
- The Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital's collaborative emergency centre was closed for part of Friday and reopened Saturday at 8 a.m.
Emergency room closures are not new to Nova Scotia.
The 38 emergency departments across the province have a total of 313,538 scheduled open hours each year.
A report last year showed a total of 25,124.5 hours of closure for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, running from April until the end of March.
Though emergency room closures are not new, Shelburne Mayor Karen Mattatall said closures over the long weekend could mean a potentially dangerous situation for people in rural areas.
"It's highly likely the risks increase over the long weekend," she said. "It is terrifying to think that somebody's health and life might be at risk."
Kristen Lipscombe, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Health Authority, said in an email that temporary emergency department closures may occur when doctors, nurses or paramedics are unavailable.
"If coverage isn't found, a temporary closure may be unavoidable," said Lipscombe.
The nearest emergency rooms to Shelburne are in Liverpool and Yarmouth and both are between 45 minutes to an hour away.
"Sometimes I'm just left with the sense the decision-makers really aren't thinking about it in terms of people's lives," said Mattatall. "People can die when they don't have access to the services that they need."
Mattatall said this is the longest closure she can remember happening in Shelburne.
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