The emergency department at Campbellford Memorial Hospital will be closed over Christmas Eve due to staff shortages.
According to a media release from the hospital issued on Wednesday evening (December 22), the emergency department will close at 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve (Friday, December 24) and will reopen at 7:30 a.m. on Christmas Day (Saturday, December 25).
The hospital made the decision to temporarily close the emergency department “due to difficulties in staffing this essential service having considered the quality of care requirements of our community.”
Before making the decision, the hospital reached out to other health care partners in the region for staffing assistance. According to the hospital, partners were “incredibly supportive” but unable to help because of their own human resource challenges dealing with the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly highlighted the implications of the shortage of health human resources throughout the province,” says Eric Hanna, the hospital’s president and CEO. “CMH is continuously re-evaluating our strategies to recruit and retain members of our team during these challenging times.”
The hospital has implemented a contingency plan for the temporary closure, including advising EMS and other emergency services of the closure.
Any area residents requiring emergency health care treatment during the closure should call 911. During the hours of the closure, ambulances will take patients directly to the closest area hospital that offers emergency medical services.
During the closure, area residents requiring urgent but non-emergency health care treatment should go directly to one of the following hospitals in the region: Northumberland Hills Hospital at 1000 DePalma Drive in Cobourg, Trenton Memorial Hospital at 242 King Street in Trenton, Belleville General Hospital at 265 Dundas Street East in Belleville, Peterborough Regional Health Centre at 1 Hospital Drive in Peterborough.
