Overnight emergency room closures extended at Island Health-area hospital
Island Health says that overnight closures at the only emergency room on Cormorant Island will continue until the end of August due to a staffing shortage.
In late July, the health authority announced that overnight closures, between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m., would begin at the Cormorant Island Community Health Centre until Aug. 16.
Those overnight emergency department (ED) closures have now been extended to Aug. 31, Island Health said Friday.
Anyone who has a medical emergency while the ED is closed is asked to call 911.
"Do not go to the CICHC ED during the hours it is closed as this will delay your access to care," said Island Health in a statement.
The health authority says it has "protocols in place" to make sure that people are taken to alternate health-care centres while the emergency department is closed.
Island Health says it needs a minimum number of staff at each hospital to remain open, and that it currently does not have enough nurses to maintain 24/7 service at the emergency department on Cormorant Island.
"Island Health continues to work diligently on recruitment and strategies to secure additional nursing coverage, with the goal of resuming 24/7 ED services at the CICHC as quickly as possible."
Emergency room closures in rural areas of Island Health have become commonplace in recent months.
Last weekend, the emergency departments at Port McNeill Hospital and Port Hardy Hospital were closed overnight due to staffing shortages.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.