The emergency department at the Chesley Hospital will be re-opening next month, but not as a 24/7 service.
South Bruce Grey Health Centre says it will operate Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning on Dec. 5. The Chesley Hospital emergency department will remain closed overnight and on weekends.
The hospital organization’s board approved the service resumption at a special meeting on Wednesday.
According to a release from South Bruce Grey Health Centre, a number of options were evaluated by the board and the decision was made to provide five days per week service.
“This decision will remain contingent on the finalization of the physician funding arrangement with the Ministry of Health, which will ensure physician coverage of the Chesley inpatient unit and ED, along with support for EDs in neighbouring hospitals. SBGHC will also continue to rely on the use of agency nurses in order to proceed with this partial resumption of service,” South Bruce Grey Health Centre says in a release.
The hospital corporation also says the partial resumption of service is a temporary solution that will continue for an indefinite period of time, as it does not expect the provincial health human resources situation to improve significantly in the near future.
The Chesley Hospital’s emergency department has been fully closed since Oct. 6 due to a critical shortage of nurses. South Bruce Grey Health Centre has undertaken a review since then to evaluate the level of service that can be “safely provided” with the staffing resources that will be available.
Staffing challenges have forced service reductions at the Chesley Hospital emergency department for a few years. An extended overnight closure was in effect from September 2019 until June 2022, when South Bruce Grey Health Centre attempted to resume 24/7 service. There were sporadic overnight closures during the summer and then the hospital corporation made a decision in September to close the Chesley emergency department overnight. In October, the temporary full closure was announced.
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“The goal of SBGHC is to maintain four strong viable sites across our corporation. We understand the importance of the hospital and its emergency department to the Chesley community, and heard that clearly at the recent community information session,” says South Bruce Grey Health Centre president and CEO Michael Barrett. “This partial reopening will assist in returning some level of emergency department service to the Chesley community, and allow SBGHC to continue to work with regional partners on the creation of a viable model for the short and longer-term.”
Meanwhile, South Bruce Grey Health Centre also announced a shortage of nurses will force the temporary closure of the emergency department at the Durham Hospital Friday night. It will close at 5 p.m. this evening and re-opening Saturday morning at 7 a.m.
