Emergency room in town of St. Marys to close overnight Thursday

A heads up for residents: the emergency department in the town of St. Marys will be temporarily closing overnight Thursday due to "human resource shortages."

According to the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA), the emergency department at the St. Marys Memorial Hospital will experience a temporary service reduction Thursday afternoon.

The emergency department will close at 5 p.m. on Thursday and will reopen on Friday at 7 a.m., at which point regular 24 hours of operation will resume.

The HPHA advises residents that anyone in immediate medical need should call 9-1-1, and paramedics will reroute them to the nearest emergency department.

The closest 24-hour emergency departments to the St. Marys Memorial Hospital are:

• Stratford – HPHA – Stratford General Hospital
• Exeter – South Huron Hospital
• Ingersoll – Alexandra Hospital
• London – LHSC– University Hospital or Victoria Hospital

Residents are first advised to contact the aforementioned emergency departments for their hours of operation.

For non-urgent health care, call Health Connect Ontario at 8-1-1, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health related questions.