CLINTON, ONT. -- The overnight emergency department closures at the Clinton and Chesley hospitals that started over a year ago are still in place, with no end in sight.
“The emergency department at the Chesley site of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre has had reduced operating hours since September of 2019. That reduction in hours is a result of a shortage of nurses, and that shortage of nurses continues today,” says South Bruce Grey Health Centre CEO Michael Barrett.
There has been some success in nurse recruitment since the 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. ER closures began.
In Chesley, it was short three potential overnight nursing positions in Sept. 2019. It has narrowed that shortage to one full-time nurse, and one part-time position. That’s what is being sought in Clinton, as well.
“You’re not necessarily recruiting the health care person, because they know they have a job. You’re recruiting the family, and what’s available to them, making sure those supports are in place,” says Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance CEO Andrew Williams.
“We try really hard to make sure we are as open with everything that’s possible in this area, as we can be,” he says.
Both Barrett and Williams agree that, recruitment efforts certainly haven’t been easier amidst a pandemic.
“The most precious resource during COVID times, beyond the vaccine, is health human resources. There is a significant shortage, among our nursing staff, as well as other hospital staff. And employees are being pushed to the limit because of the extra requirements due to COVID-19, so it’s a real challenge right now to find the number of experienced nurses that you need to operate an emergency room, in places like Chesley and Clinton,” says Barrett.
The extension of the overnight emergency room closures has people in both Clinton and Chesley worried about the future of their small-town hospitals.
But both Barrett and Williams say the the plan has always been, and remains, to get both hospitals emergency rooms open 24 hours a day again, as soon as possible.
