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
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.