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Community ‘really, really concerned’ with eight week ER closure

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The closed sign is up outside the Chesley hospital’s emergency department, and it’s not coming down, until at least Dec. 2.

“The move is significant. We’ve had closures in the past where we’ve closed overnight, some full day closures. But, we want to ensure we provide safe care and consistency to the community, and we simply do not have enough nurses to keep the emergency department operational for 24/7 service,” says South Bruce Grey Health Centre CEO, Michael Barrett.

Municipality of Arran-Elderslie Mayor Steve Hammell calls the eight week closure of his community’s ER, “terrible news for the community,” saying “a lot of people are really, really concerned, right now.”

“Without a functioning ER, we can’t expect our physicians to be in our community for much longer. They will work elsewhere, and this really is a battle for small town rural healthcare,” says Hammell.

Chesley resident and business owner, Nathan Rhody, is outraged by the news. Fearful for his fellow residents’ safety.

“Other communities are seeing closures, but nothing to this extent. What’s the difference here? All I can see is our hospital corporation isn’t up the standards of some of the other ones, locally,” says Rhody.

Barrett says the South Bruce Grey Health Centre (SBGHC), which also runs hospitals in Kincardine, Durham, and Walkerton, will spend the next eight weeks determining the future of emergency medicine in Chesley.

“There’s no commitment at the end of the eight weeks that we’ll have a solution that will see it reopen to 24/7 service, but we will look at all the options to explore what’s best for serving the Chesley community,” says Barrett.

Rhody was hoping that the closures could be shared amongst the SBGHC’s four hospitals, but that’s not happening, so he feels it’s time for new leadership at the hospital corporation that manages Chesley’s Hospital.

“To see a group of people decide on our behalf that it needs to be closed for a long period of time, is so disheartening,” he says.

“We definitely need help. We need help from the province. We need help from anyone with any good ideas. We need more nurses, that’s what it comes down to,” says Mayor Hammell.

NDP Health Critic, Frances Gelinas had this to say about Chesley’s ER closure.

“Closing an ER for any length of time can have dire consequences, especially in a rural community where people are already driving long distances to access urgent care. For families in the Chesley area to face this reality for eight long weeks is simply horrific.”

The Chesley ER closure is scheduled to last until Dec. 2. The hospital’s inpatient unit, lab, and imaging departments, remain open. A public information session about the eight week closure, and the future of Chesley’s hospital is taking place on Oct. 18.  

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