A hospital in the South Bruce Grey Health Centre network is being forced to reduce hours for the foreseeable future.
A release from SBGHC states the Chesley Hospital Emergency Department will begin closing at 5 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following morning every night beginning tonight (September 9th). The release says the permanent reduction in ED hours in Chesley for the foreseeable future is due to a critical shortage of nurses. SBGHC says this reduction in service will be for an "indefinite period of time." The Chesley ED will be staffed from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. to ensure patients can be cleared from the ED as needed and appropriate.
Additionally, staffing challenges in Chesley this weekend will force the emergency department there to close all this weekend, starting tonight (September 9th) at 5 p.m. and reopening Monday, September 12th at 7 a.m. The inpatient unit of the Chesley hospital will remain open and operational at all times.
“Although our team of incredible nurses has made a significant effort to try and fill as many vacant shifts as possible, and our leaders have dedicated a large majority of their time to stabilizing nursing staff levels within our organization, including working some shifts, the reality is that there just are not enough nurses in the system to continue providing the level of service that has been provided to date,” says Michael Barrett, SBGHC President and CEO. “This is certainly not the decision we wanted to make, but we will only operate if we can provide safe care to the patients we serve.”