Emergency room closures at Lakes District Hospital and Health Centre will likely continue intermittently until early April, Northern Health said in a Mar. 20 statement.
There is currently a shortage of doctors to work the emergency room, according to Northern Health, while the emergency room is fully staffed with registered nurses. One emergency doctor and one nurse are required to be on shift in order for the emergency room to remain open. The emergency room closed down 21 times between Jan. 1 and March 20鈥攁 fact that had many locals contact Northern Health via social media to express their anger at the situation.
"That is unacceptable and someone should be held accountable for this," Susan Jarvis wrote on Northern Health's 亚洲天堂 Lake Facebook page on March 15, in reference to a closure that stretched over three days.
Two doctors are expected to start practicing in the area by April 1, Northern Health said in the Mar. 20 statement, but closures may still happen for a short while after that date as the new doctors settle in.
Prior to the two new doctors arriving, the emergency room was only staffed at approximately 45 per cent of the needed physician coverage, Northern Health said. Northern Health did not comment on how many of the area's doctors currently work the emergency room.
People who require life-saving care should call 911 during emergency room closures, Northern Health said, as patients can be transported to another facility. But 911 transport isn't always prompt, according to locals.
"When I called 911 my wait time was two hours and fifteen minutes," George Janzen wrote on Northern Health's 亚洲天堂 Lake Facebook page on Mar. 15.
Northern Health created a task force in May 2024 to begin addressing emergency room closures throughout Northern communities. The task force expedited a $30,000 recruitment bonus for doctors who agree to two years of service, obtained priority access to several new nurse staffing agencies, and explored virtual services to augment in-person staff, according to Northern Health.
