The Sackville Memorial Hospital emergency department is closed temporarily for another weekend, according to an announcement this afternoon from the Horizon Health Network.
Horizon says that due to “a shortage of physician coverage”, the Sackville emergency department will close at 4pm on Friday, September 16 and reopen Monday, September 19, 2022, at 8am.
All patients requiring emergency medical care will need to be treated at another hospital. The two closest emergency rooms are in Amherst and Moncton.
Horizon says all ambulances will be diverted to other hospitals. Anyone with a medical emergency should still call 911.For non-urgent medical needs, Horizon encourages use of Tele-Care 811, pharmacies, virtual care at eVisitNB.ca, and after-hours clinics. More information on these options is available at sowhywait.ca.
Interim Horizon CEO Margaret Melanson recently re-affirmed the health network’s committment to return to 24/7 service at the Sackville hospital emergency department. Melanson made the committment in a meeting with Sackville Mayor Shawn Mesheau and other local mayors in August, according to Mesheau’s monthly report to council.
The meeting also included Suzanne Johnston, the new trustee appointed by the Higgs government to replace Horizon’s partially elected board of directors. Johnston will be interviewed by MLAs today starting at 2pm at the provincial legislature’s public accounts committee.
Mesheau reported to council that nurse practitioners are now working alongside doctors in the Sackville emergency department to help cover primary care related needs. Mesheau also met with Horizon’s medical director Dr. Jody Enright to discuss physician recruitment.
In her report to council this month, special projects manager Kieran Miller said that the Town of Sackville and Mount Allison will be a co-sponsoring the 2022 Dalhousie Family Medicine Education weekend in Saint Andrews later in September.
Miller also said the marketing campaign organized collaboratively with Horizon and the Rural Health Action Group has started a We Want You! campaign which is visible on Facebook.
Mesheau’s report to council also says that several acute care beds are expected to be opening in the Brunswick Unit of the Sackville hospital in October.
All acute care beds had been temporarily transformed to pre-long term care in December 2021, at the same time that emergency service hours were cut by two thirds.