GUYSBOROUGH: Overnight coverage of the Emergency Departments (EDs) at a pair of local hospitals is returning, for the time being.
Officials with the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) announced they developed a short-term plan, which was agreed upon after discussions with nurses and physicians that staff the two EDs.
“We know the people in these communities want their emergency departments open full-time every day,” Madonna MacDonald, Vice-President, Operations, Eastern Zone said. “At this time, we are trying to provide the best level of service we can with the staff and physician resources we have available.”
In Canso, the NSHA is restoring 24/7 ED services daily at the Eastern Memorial Hospital until July 27.
The Guysborough Memorial Hospital, however, will operate on an intermittent schedule. It closed overnight July 9, as previously announced, and ran 24/7 over the weekend and closed again on July 13.
“It is unfortunate that this action has to be taken,” MacDonald said. “However, we were advised [July 3] the physicians working in the ED have decided they can no longer continue to provide 24-hour coverage. We understand their decision and appreciate the commitment they had made to keep the ED operating 24 hours daily while physician recruitment efforts were ongoing.”
Two physicians will continue to provide 24-hour coverage for the inpatient medical unit, the long-term care facility, and manage their family practices. It will then be open 24/7 on July 14, 16, 20, 22, and 24–26.
Vernon Pitts, the warden of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough said the loss of overnight coverage is a major blow to the communities.
“It’s a cornerstone of any community, and if you remove one of the cornerstones of any building, the building is doomed to collapse – I think this is just one step down that road,” Pitts said. “What I would like to do is just stop where we are right now – let’s refocus, get a targeted approach, and go forward.”
He said municipal officials have done a significant amount of work to bring health care professionals to the area, and a reduction of ED coverage is an insult to that work.
“I’m going to lay the blame right at the province’s feet,” he said. “It’s a provincial responsibility – doctor recruitment [and] retention.”
The ED is open at both facilities daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the NSHA remains committed to developing a sustainable, long-term plan for the delivery of primary, community and emergency care for the communities of Canso and Guysborough.
“We want to assure the residents of the area we are making best efforts to recruit physicians to Guysborough,” MacDonald said. “We recognize the importance of having a 24-hour ED operating in that area and we will be doing everything we can to get the ED back to full operation as soon as possible.”