Doctor warns of temporary closures as Chesley emergency department reopens
Doctor warns of temporary closures as Chesley emergency department reopens
For the first time in two months, Chesley, Ont. residents can head to their hospital’s emergency department for help with their health.
“We’re very happy the emergency department is open. It’s not as much as we’d like it to be, but it is what it is. At least, we have some service for the community which is great,” said Dr. Jacqueline Wong, physician site chief at the Chesley Hospital.
After being closed since Oct. 6 due to a lack of qualified nurses, Chesley’s emergency department reopened on Monday.
Its new hours going forward with be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, meaning the emergency department will still be closed weeknights and weekends.
“We’re getting back what they promised. We’re getting nothing more. We don’t know if it will be anything less. At this point, we’re just getting back what they promised when they were closing it down,” said Chesley resident, Doug Walsh.
Chesley’s emergency department has been dealing with rolling daytime closures for the past year, after being closed in the overnight hours for the previous two years. A short lived return to 24/7 emergency department coverage ended abruptly this spring. A community meeting in October brought out most of the town’s 1,800 residents.
The Chesley Hospital emergency department reopened in Chesley, Ont. on Dec. 5, 2022. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
“Years ago, bus loads of people went down to Queen’s Park to fight to keep this hospital open, so this isn’t a new thing for us,” said Walsh.
While the community continues to push for the return of 24/7 emergency department coverage in Chesley, hospital administrators said it will be a daily struggle to maintain their current daytime hours with sick calls and staff shortages.
They expect more rolling temporary emergency department closures this year and next.
“Even today, we had a sick call, so we weren’t sure we were going to be able to open, and that’s the way it’s going to be probably going forward, at least in the near future,” said Wong.
Chesley’s emergency department reopening plan is precarious, but for residents, it’s better than no emergency department at all, which is what they faced over the past two months.
“For the people of Arran-Elderslie, yes, it’s better than nothing,” added Walsh.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.
When President Joe Biden signed a bill last year to fight gun violence -- the first such measure to pass Congress in a generation -- a substantial majority supported it. But 78 per cent said they believed it would do little or nothing at all, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.
The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummelling the Black motorist.
After years of reports and allegations detailing a 'toxic' workplace, Canada's RCMP says it is trying to evolve, focusing on diversity in its organization and repairing relationships with communities as it marks its 150th anniversary.
When 1990s suede fringe jackets started making a comeback last year, a U.K.-based vintage clothing company decided to order four tonnes of suede from a supplier in the United States. Along with that shipment came a once-in-a lifetime discovery.
When the cold and snow have people hunkering down, these outdoor enthusiasts find motivation in braving the Canadian winter through community and sport.
Tyre Nichols' fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tenn., recorded in video made public Friday night, is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
The Region of Waterloo has lost a court bid for an injunction to evict residents of an encampment on municipally owned land at Victoria Street North and Weber Street West in Kitchener.
A drag queen show in Elora will continue Saturday night as planned, despite organizers saying concerns were raised after online comments targeted the event.
With art displays and activities to bring out the best of winter for a one-day festival of fun, Winterloo has returned after three years of pandemic alterations.
Ward Four Coun. Mark McKenzie has now made his position known over whether or not council should rescind its support for the downtown location of a drug consumption and treatment site. But now a petition has also been launched in favour of moving forward on the project and keeping the site where it is.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
It's been more than three months since a Windsor-based fitness instructor and former hockey player took his own life — but his legacy is living on through a new fundraiser which organizers hope will spark new conversations about mental health for years to come
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos insists the federal government is going to 'work flexibly' with the provinces on the terms of a possible health-care funding deal and avoid 'micromanaging' how they deliver health care to Canadians.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
OPS and Ottawa Bylaw officers issued 117 parking tickets and 47 Provincial Offences Notices Saturday, as hundreds of people marked the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy'.
Ottawa police are warning the public of the dangers of texting explicit images to people on social media platforms, after seeing a spike in sextortion cases this winter.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
Late Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion is being remembered for the many ways she contributed to not only to the city she led for 36 years, but also the province.
Anti-poverty activists are praising the Quebec basic income program as a good step toward helping people meet their basic needs — but say strict eligibility criteria exclude many of the province’s lowest-income residents.
Some Indigenous communities in Quebec that are patrolled by provincial police say the established system does not fully meet security needs and needs improvement.
A ceremony will be held this evening to mark the sixth anniversary of Quebec City's deadly mosque shooting. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, several senior federal cabinet ministers and Quebec Premier Francois Legault are among those expected to attend.
Some faculty members at Cape Breton University have walked off the job. Their strike started Friday, with the faculty's union saying the administration has disrespected it at every turn, leading to a large number of labour grievances.
As extreme cold weather brings wind chill values nearing -40°C, it's impacting everything from winter recreation to the city's most vulnerable population.
The Hitmen return to the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex helped a little as the team collected a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Saskatoon Blades Saturday afternoon on Tsuut'ina Nation.
An organization helping Ukrainian newcomers settle into their new lives in Edmonton is hosting a furniture donation blitz to help restock their warehouse.
Canadian police chiefs condemned on Friday the death of a Black man who was savagely beaten by police during a traffic stop in the United States, saying the officers involved must be held accountable.
A former Kelowna nurse has been disciplined by her professional college for her inadequate response to an unresponsive person at the entrance of the emergency department where she was working in September 2021.
BC Emergency Health Services saw a slight decline in 911 calls for overdose and drug toxicity last year, but some areas saw a dramatic increase, and the death rate doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
The Chesley Hospital emergency department reopened in Chesley, Ont. on Dec. 5, 2022. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)
