Horizon CEO optimistic about ER hours increase in fall, despite recent closure
While the Sackville hospital was experiencing a last minute closure of its emergency department last Thursday, Horizon’s CEO John Dornan told those gathered for the network’s annual general meeting that staffing issues at the hospital have been improving, and that the hours for the ER might see an increase in the not-too-distant future, possibly even this fall.
Sackville’s emergency department hours were cut by two thirds to just eight hours per day about a year ago. Then in December, acute care beds at the hospital were converted into alternative level of care (ALC) beds for those awaiting placement in long term care homes. The move accomplished two things: it reduced the staffing pressures to keep acute care open, and it opened up beds for some of the backlog of people awaiting placement in long term care facilities in the region.
New Brunswick’s hospitals are housing many people in the ALC category, generally waiting for a long term placement in a more appropriate facility. Horizon’s annual report says the network averages about one quarter of all its beds allocated to ALC patients.
At Thursday’s annual general meeting, CHMA asked Dornan whether the need for those transition beds would pose a challenge to the return of acute care to Sackville, and how that measured up against the continuing challenges in staffing.
Dornan replied that the issue is still mainly a lack of staffing, and that the Sackville hospital has not been “assigned to be an ALC facility exclusively.”… Continue