Two local hospitals close emergency room this long weekend
It’s not the kind of news folks in Clinton, wanted to hear. Their community’s emergency room will be unavailable for the entire Canada Day long weekend.
“No one likes to lose services they’re used to having, especially when they’re medical services, that might endanger someone’s life. So, no, not good news,” says Municipality of Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn.
For 84 hours, starting Friday night, and lasting until Tuesday morning, the Clinton Public Hospital’s Emergency Room will be closed, marking the longest ER closure in Clinton’s history. Physician and nursing shortages are to blame, says Deborah Wiseman, chief nursing executive with the Huron-Perth Healthcare Alliance, who anticipates more service disruptions to come this summer and beyond.
“Not just this weekend, but what you’ll see is more to come. I’m going to say for the next six months to several years, with our human healthcare shortages, both in the nursing and physician areas. We are really struggling to maintain services,” says Wiseman.
Clinton is not alone. The emergency room at the Listowel Memorial Hospital will be closed from Friday evening, until Saturday morning. Staff shortages are to blame as well.
“For the last two years, our staff have gone above and beyond and now need a break. We simply cannot ask them to do more,” says Listowel-Wingham Hospitals Alliance president Karl Ellis.
Three times last year, Clinton’s Emergency Room had to be closed for 24 hours, and an overnight ER closure has been in place since December 2019. It has some in the community fearing for the hospital’s future.
“A hospital is a fundamental part of the community, and people will decide to come or not come, based on whether there is a hospital or not. So, yeah, you always worry about that,” says Mayor Ginn.
Residents aren’t happy about the emergency room closures but seem resigned to the reality of the situation.
“If there’s an emergency still close by, it’s 10 minutes to Seaforth. We want it open as much as they can, but if they can’t make it work every day, then we’ll just have to work around that,” says Ian Fleming, who lives near Clinton.
Wiseman says they are investigating everything to try and resolve the healthcare worker shortage, and keep their Emergency Rooms open, including using paramedics in the ER.
“We don’t want to pull from one area and have that impact the community. We’re trying to be very careful and thoughtful before we make any decisions, of that nature. But, we are investigating all opportunities, for sure,” she says.
The closest hospitals to Clinton are 10 to 15 minutes away in Seaforth and Goderich. The closest hospital to Listowel is 15 minutes away in Palmerston.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.