Patients with non-life threatening conditions are being asked to stay away from Moncton Hospital and Saint John Regional Hospital this weekend. Margaret Melanson, Horizon’s interim president and CEO, said she has never seen the situation so dire at these hospitals. “I don’t believe that’s been the case in recent years,” he said in a hurried news interview Friday morning. “Likewise, having worked in the health care system myself, I don’t recall the urgency of this message over the past several years.” The province’s largest hospitals have mostly been spared cuts to emergency services in recent months, although University Hospital Center Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont in Moncton closed Canada Day weekend due to staff shortages. There have been service reductions in Oromocto and Sackville and regular closures at the Sussex Emergency Department. Margaret Melanson, Horizon Health’s interim president and CEO, says the network wants to improve employee morale. (CBC) Melanson said there are several factors that have added to the chronically low staffing rates, including a holiday for health care workers, a large music concert in Dieppe and a number of workers suffering from COVID-19. He also said that there are “within our facilities a large number of patients who really need nursing home-level care.” That, he said, is contributing to the “congestion issues we’re having and … affecting emergency departments as well.” Melanson said non-life-threatening cases are asked to stay away so other staff can continue to provide care to those who are seriously ill. Moncton Hospital is the province’s designated Level 2 trauma center and Saint John Regional Hospital is the province’s designated Level 1 trauma centre,” Horizon officials explained in a news release. “These facilities must commit their resources to caring for people with critical medical needs, including those who have suffered serious injuries, heart attacks, strokes and difficulty breathing. We will provide care to people with limb or life-threatening medical needs.” “We recognize the seriousness of this situation and the difficulties it may bring to the residents of Moncton and Saint John, as well as our staff and physicians,” said Melanson. “We are providing on-site support to our staff and doctors who will be caring for patients with serious injuries or illnesses over the weekend and are grateful for their dedication to their patients,” he said. During Friday’s press conference, Dr. Serge Melanson, an emergency room doctor at Moncton Hospital, said he doesn’t expect patients to be able to assess their own medical needs without help. The last thing we want to do is create a situation where people feel like they have to make these decisions on their own,” he told reporters. “I will tell you that after 20 years of practicing ER medicine, I don’t expect any patient to be able to self-diagnose serious conditions at home without any guidance or assistance.” Dr. Serge Melanson, an emergency physician at Moncton Hospital, says there is online help for people trying to determine where to see care. (Submitted by Dr. Serge Melanson) He said there are online options like sowhywait.ca and evisitnb.ca to help. Telecare 811 can assist with assessment, while Ambulance New Brunswick paramedics can treat and release patients. Pharmacists can also provide some advice, he said. Patients may also visit other emergency departments, such as:
Horizon’s Sackville Memorial Hospital (40 minutes, from Moncton Hospital), open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Horizon’s Sussex Health Center (50 minutes from Moncton Hospital and Saint John Regional), open 24/7 Horizon’s St. Joseph’s Hospital Urgent Care Center in Saint John (10 minutes from Regional), open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Horizon’s Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen (1 hour 15 minutes from Regional, open 24/7
But within hours of issuing the alternative hospitals to watch, Horizon issued a statement saying the Sussex ER would be closed overnight on Friday. “Due to an unexpected shortage of available staff”, the emergency department at Sussex Hospital will close early today. It will close at 5.30pm and reopen on Saturday at 7.30am “After 5:30 p.m., all patients should seek treatment at another hospital,” said a note released by Horizon on Friday afternoon.
What constitutes a true emergency?
In general, Dr. Melanson said that a sudden onset of acute and unknown symptoms “would certainly constitute a real emergency, and I would encourage people who are experiencing this type of thing to get to their local ER and be seen and taken care of.” Horizon said conditions that would require a 911 call or a trip to the emergency department include:
Chest discomfort or tightness. Unusual shortness of breath. Abdominal pain. Prolonged and persistent headache or dizziness. An injury that may require stitches or involve a broken bone. A child with prolonged diarrhea or vomiting. A baby under six months of age with a fever of 38 C (100.4 F) or higher.
Horizon examples provided when a trip to the ER is not warranted and should be treated in the community include:
Sore throat, toothache or earache. Possible bladder infections. Rash (like scabies). Screening for sexually transmitted infection. Lower back pain from lifting or twisting. Flu symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, chills and fever. Recipe replacements.
Margaret Melanson said it had been a very difficult summer in terms of staffing levels, despite last week’s announcement that Horizon had hired 1,300 health workers since April. At the time of the announcement, Melanson said she expected to see significant changes in the coming weeks due to increased hiring. The emergency room at Saint John Regional Hospital will be turning away anyone with a non-life-threatening condition this weekend due to a critical shortage of nurses. (CBC News file photo) On Friday, he said there had been gains, but a number of factors working together this weekend at Moncton and Saint John hospitals caused a temporary setback. Horizon spokesman Kris McDavid confirmed that during the same period, 1,300 new health care workers were hired, 662 left the system through retirement, resignation or departure. That leaves a net gain as of April 1 of 638 employees.
The Minister of Health hints at upcoming announcements
Health Secretary Bruce Fitch held his own Zoom meeting with the media later Friday. He was asked about specific plans his department has to try to improve the system and reiterated the message about the importance of recruiting and retaining new health workers in the province. He also said that as technology advances, it’s possible to take some procedures out of hospitals and into clinics, “which frees up the OR or the surgical suite again to do hips and knees and some of the more complex procedures.” When pressed for more details, Fitch said, “Well, I don’t want to hijack some of my announcements in the near future, so why don’t I just say ‘stay tuned’ because there are some … announcements I’d like to make on the no and very distant future some of these options.”
