Alexandria, Ont. hospital reopens some overnight emergency services

The Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, Ont. will be closed overnight from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily until Aug. 3. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

The Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, Ont. has reopened its ER to 24 hour service, but only for part of the week.

The hospital closed its emergency room overnights from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. starting July 15, with the intention of having full 24-hour service return in two weeks.

But in a news release Tuesday, the hospital said staffing shortages will keep the ER closed overnight on weekends.

"Given the extreme staffing pressures we have been experiencing, we are not yet in a position to open fully seven days per week," the release said.

The hospital's ER will be open all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but will only operate between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The plan is to be in place until Aug. 22.

"We remain committed to exploring all options to stabilize staffing, return to normal operations and to ensure the continued safety of our patients and staff," said hospital president and CEO Robert Alldred-Hughes. "The hospital has been actively recruiting new nurses, working with temporary staffing agencies, welcoming nurses back from leaves of absence, and assessing alternate models of care to address the system wide Health Human Resource shortage that we are experiencing at HGMH."

Residents are reminded to call 9-1-1 if experiencing severe shortness of breath, chest pain, severe bleeding or periods of unconsciousness. Ambulances will be redirected to the Cornwall Community Hospital or the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital when the ER is closed.

If you are experiencing less severe symptoms that still require immediate care, the HGMH asks you to drive to a neighbouring hospital.

The ER in Alexandria is just one of many forced to cut its hours or temporarily close because of staffing shortages linked to burnout, fatigue and COVID-19 related absences.

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones told CP24 on Tuesday that the closures of emergency departments across the province is "disturbing" but she would not acknowledge whether the series of shutdowns is acceptable.

"I want to reassure people that Ontario Health is a major part of the plan to work with those local hospitals to make sure that they have the capacity and all the options have been put on the table," Jones said.

--With files from CTV's Nate Vandermeer and Hannah Alberga.