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Temporary emergency closures along eastern shore increasing
WATCH: The Nova Scotia Health Authority says there has been an increase in temporary emergency department closures for Eastern Shore hospitals over the past few months. – Jan 5, 2021
The number of temporary emergency department closures keep rolling in for hospitals in the Eastern Shore region of Nova Scotia.
“They have increased over the past few months. Closures in these smaller emergency departments are pretty cyclical,” said Roberta Duchesne, Nova Scotia Health director of community and rural sites.
“So, usually what we see is there may be some challenges with staffing at Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital and nothing happening that would cause a closer at Twin Oaks but what’s happened lately is their mostly happening all at the same time.”
Duchesne says the issues are often rooted in staffing shortages of physicians and nurses. She says hospitals like Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital have been plagued by physician shortages for a long period of time.
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Musquodoboit Harbour resident, Anita-Rose Carter, says a recent emergency department experience at Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital left her flabbergasted.
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Carter co-founded a community-based mental health organization called Eastern Shore Mental Health. The volunteer group helps connect people to mental health supports. She says one time, she was on her way to support someone experiencing a mental health crisis, only to find that the nearest emergency department was closed.
“Someone came to the door and said the emergency room is closed and I said, ‘Well, what am I supposed to do? And they said, ‘Well, there’s another hospital in Dartmouth,'” Carter said.
Carter says this experience happened at the Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital and she can’t imagine what more rural residents may be feeling.
“It’s quite frightening, really because it is becoming more frequent and it’s quite alarming.”
“Especially, for the folks that are further from the city, like Sheet Harbour and Middle Musquodoboit. I mean, that is their centre of care for mental health or physical health,” Rose said.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority says that despite ongoing recruitment efforts, staff shortages are still the primary cause of temporary emergency department closures in rural communities.
Alexa MacLean / Global News
Duchesne says overnight access to the emergency department at Musquodoboit Valley has been permanently closed for several years.
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She says inpatient service at that location is still available overnight when necessary.
Overall, Duchesne says it’s important for rural residents to know that the Nova Scotia Health Authority has been recruiting nurses and physicians for Musquodoboit and Sheet Harbour on an ongoing basis but it comes with challenges.
“There’s been recruitment bonuses but with that comes a return of service and not all nursing staff will stay past the return of service,” she said.
She adds that all rural communities across the province are competing to try and retain health-care professionals — a province-wide issue that’s led to community outreach.
Duchesne says over a year ago, the health authority met with Sheet Harbour residents to discuss the Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital closures.
“From that, there was a community group that was struck to help us work through the closures down in the Sheet Harbour area,” she said.
Duchesne says further meetings were cancelled due to the pandemic but she encourages residents to actively engage in discussions surrounding temporary emergency department closures.
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Adrian Blanchette is an Eastern Shore resident in his 80s. He says he doesn’t blame staffing for any emergency department closures and describes any routine medical care he’s received at Twin Oaks Memorial as ‘excellent.’
However, he says having access to emergency health care is something he feels plays a crucial role in helping people feel safe in their communities.
“The fact is, it’s an emergency department and an emergency department should be available all the time.”
Adrian Blanchette is a senior who has lived on the Eastern Shore for many decades. He feels rural residents shouldn’t have to worry about not being able to access their community emergency department.
Alexa MacLean/Global Halifax
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