Updated with comments from Christa Wheeler-Thorne, Executive Director, Horizon’s The Moncton Hospital/Sackville Memorial Hospital
Horizon Health Network announced this morning that effective Friday, November 19, Sackville emergency room hours will be reduced to daytime only, with the ER open 8am to 4pm seven days a week.
Horizon’s announcement says, “emergency care will not be offered during the evening or night, and all patients and clients requiring medical care will need to seek treatment at another hospital.”
Overnight emergency care has been unavailable in Sackville on weekend nights since June 11, 2021.
The further reduction in service is due to a physician and nursing shortage, says Horizon. “The emergency department at Horizon’s Sackville Memorial Hospital has been faced with staff shortages in the past which has led to frequent coverage issues,” reads the announcement.
In an emailed statement, Christa Wheeler-Thorne, executive director of the Moncton Hospital and Sackville Memorial Hospital, confirmed that the move was intended to be temporary. “We want to be clear this change is temporary but is necessary to provide appropriate nursing resources for inpatient services… This change will also help to resolve the confusion for the public and Ambulance New Brunswick who are affected by last-minute, sporadic closures.”
The Sackville ER has had several last minute overnight closures, and even a daytime closure, in addition to the scheduled weekend overnight closures announced in June.
“Horizon acknowledges this change will be difficult for community members,” writes Wheeler-Thorne, “but we believe it is the best way to provide safe and quality care while providing reliable physician and nursing coverage.”
The hospital director says the goal remains, “to provide emergency services at Horizon’s Sackville Memorial Hospital 24/7.”
Wheeler-Thorne says that Horizon is currently recruiting four RNs and one LPN, and was able to fill one RN position since September 1, 2021. But there is also a physician shortage at the hospital, she says, with only six physicians regularly available to cover the work of nine that usually cover the ER.
Wheeler-Thorne says that Horizon is, “actively working on a recruitment campaign and have been working closely with community partners to help attract health care professionals to the Sackville area.”
On Monday, Sackville town council will consider whether to support a funding request from the Rural Health Action Group to provide seed money for a fund to help support health care recruitment in the area. Read more about that here.
“We’re also working to promote Horizon as an employer, as well as the Town of Sackville, the Tantramar area and the Sackville Memorial Hospital as a destination of choice for candidates, while continuing to offer financial incentives for eligible positions,” says Wheeler-Thorne.
