Campbellford Memorial Hospital is closing its emergency department for most of Christmas Day due to a nursing staff shortage.
The emergency department will be temporarily closed from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 25th.
According to a media release issued by the hospital on Thursday afternoon (December 22), a contingency plan has been implemented to deal with the temporary closure “to ensure the impact to patient care is as minimal as possible.”
EMS and other emergency services are aware of the temporary closure. While the emergency department is closed, ambulances will take patients directly to the closest area hospital that offers emergency medical services.
“While every effort was made to keep the emergency department open, including reaching out to our regional partners, the ongoing province-wide shortage of health human resources continues to put a strain on health care operations throughout our region,” reads a hospital media release.
The hospital says area residents requiring emergency health care treatment during the closure should call 9-1-1, and those with urgent health care treatment should go to other hospitals in the region, which include Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg, Trenton Memorial Hospital, Belleville General Hospital, or Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
This is not the first time Campbellford Memorial Hospital has been forced to temporarily close its emergency department due to staffing challenges. In October, the hospital closed its emergency department for three days and, last December, the hospital closed the emergency department over Christmas Eve.
