Expectant mothers in Miramichi, N.B., will have to travel some two hours away if they are giving birth over the weekend
Labour and birth services at the Miramichi Regional Hospital are being “temporarily diverted” because of a shortage of available nurses.
The diversion began Thursday and is expected to end Monday at 8 a.m.
Paula Doucet, president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union, says the staff shortages are because nurses are being overworked.
“There has been lots of overtime, 16- to 24-hour shifts trying to make coverage, coming in on their days off, no breaks, no meal periods,” she said.
“The manager has been doing their best to support them, but they are so short-staffed.”
According to Horizon Health Network, the closest hospitals to Miramichi with labour services are in Bathurst, Moncton, and Fredericton. While Bathurst is about an hour’s drive, the other options are about two hours away.
In a statement, Horizon Health Network says their initial efforts to fill the shifts were unsuccessful but remain active.
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“Patients who present to the Miramichi Regional Hospital in labour or with urgent obstetrical concerns will continue to receive assessment and emergency care from staff, including obstetricians,” Horizon said in a statement.
Health Minister John Dornan says the closure was unexpected and that emergency measures are in place for anyone who can’t make the drive to those other hospitals.
“If somebody has to deliver in that hospital, in that emergency room, then we have resources for those people in an emergency situation,” he said.
Dornan adds that any expectant mother 35 weeks or further along should make arrangements to be close to one of those other options, but there will be no compensation provided for any travel-related expenses.
In April, the Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville, N.B., also had a closure, and expectant parents were advised to travel to the hospital in Fredericton or Edmundston.
A couple recently made news in the province after their baby was delivered on the sidewalk outside the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton last month, due to the Upper River Valley Hospital closure.
“It’s something that we don’t like to see, anytime over the last decade or so, and it drives us to give better care,” Dornan said, when asked about that case.
Doucet called the scenario traumatizing.
“If you find yourself in a situation that you need urgent medical attention outside of a facility, please call 911,” she said.
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