Sackville emergency department closed Saturday; NBMS calls for ‘targeted investments’ not political interference
The Sackville Memorial Hospital emergency department (ED) is closed for a second day this week due to a shortage of available physicians.
Horizon Health Network made the announcement at noon Friday that the Sackville ED would close at 4pm as usual, and remain closed until Sunday morning at 8am. This is the second full-day closure this week, and both closures are due to a lack of available physicians to staff the department.
All patients requiring emergency medical care will need to be treated at another hospital, with the closest emergency departments in Amherst and Moncton. Horizon says all ambulances will be diverted to other hospitals.
The Horizon announcement says, “We are actively working to recruit physicians and nurses to reduce temporary closures and resume services to the communities we serve. Horizon remains committed to providing safe and quality care, and the decision to temporarily close the ED is made to ensure safe care for our patients and clients.”
In July, Premier Blaine Higgs suddenly fired former Horizon CEO John Dornan, in reaction to a widely reported death in the waiting room of the emergency department at the Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton. Then-CEO Dornan ordered a review of the death, and was later fired by Higgs in a shake up that also abolished the partially elected boards of directors governing the Horizon and Vitalité health networks, and shuffled Dorothy Shephard out of her position as minister of health.… Continue