Controversial Medical Transition Unit at Fredericton hospital closed

A look at the medical transition unit at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital. (Courtesy: David Coon)

A controversial temporary Medical Transition Unit (MTU) at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton has been closed.

Horizon Health says any remaining patients in the unit have been discharged or moved to another space in the hospital.

The MTU was created in 2024 to help with overcapacity issues at the hospital, giving a space for people who were admitted to the Emergency Department and awaiting a transfer to a bed in the hospital.

“The hospital was in a situation, at the time, where there was simply no space to address what we hoped would be temporary challenges. However, it became clear we needed this capacity on an ongoing basis,” said Margaret Melanson, Horizon president and CEO, in a news release Thursday.

“We’re now in a position to be able to have these patients elsewhere and are continuing work to improve patient capacity at the DECRH. While that work is ongoing, we are able today to no longer require the converted bay for patients.”

The unit became the topic of conversation after an open letter to Premier Susan Holt was shared over 6,000 times on social media. In the letter, a registered nurse described her grandmother’s experience being treated in the makeshift unit, which was located in the hospital’s ambulance bay, saying the unit lacked resources such as a bathroom and running water.

The president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union responded to the letter at that time saying while the unit was “far from adequate, but nurses are doing the best they can.”

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