Arnprior, Ont. ER the latest rural hospital to experience staff shortages
The Arnprior Regional Hospital was forced to close its emergency room Monday night for the second time this month.
In a statement, hospital CEO Leah Levesque said, "Unfortunately, we could not avoid the two overnight temporary closures due to unexpected staffing shortages. We cannot guarantee there will not be another temporary closure."
Arnprior's ER also closed the night of Friday, May 19.
The hospital cites burnout, illness, and workers leaving the profession as reasons for the closures.
"If we are at a point where one or two sick calls makes a department have to close, this tells you how extreme these shortages in Ontario are," said Erin Ariss, president of the Ontario Nurses' Association.
The ONA says Ontario is short 24,000 nurses, with rural hospitals being most heavily impacted.
"There's just not enough staffing at this point to keep these emergency departments open," she tells CTV News.
At Queen's Park Tuesday, interim Liberal leader John Fraser claimed there were 145 emergency room closures across Ontario last summer.
In Kingston, the Children's Outpatient Clinic Urgent Care Centre will begin limiting the amount of walk-in patients it sees daily, starting June 1.
That centre says it may also close early some days depending on when that limit is reached.
A spokesperson Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the government is working to bolster the health care workforce across the province.
"Our government knows emergency rooms have faced capacity pressures year after year. We know the status quo is not working and more needs to be done, that is why earlier this year we launched Your Health," Hannah Jensen said.
In addition to our efforts to bolster our health care workforce across the province as laid out in Your Health, such as the expanded Learn and Stay Grant, As of Right credentials and working with regulatory colleges to break down barriers for nurses, our government has a number of programs available to support hospitals and their staff. The Emergency Department Locum Program provides urgent locum coverage to designated hospitals facing significant challenges covering emergency department shifts. Last year, through this program, nearly 1500 emergency room closures were diverted."
"What I am deeply concerned about is that this is going to put additional pressure on other emergency departments, other hospitals in the region," said Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles.
Elsewhere in Ontario, the emergency room in Minden is set to close permanently June 1 due to severe staffing shortages.
The ONA is calling on the province for more funding to keep up.
"Look at compensation, benefits, scheduling; things that matter to all Ontarians, in particular nurses," said Ariss.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Just how bad are ultraprocessed foods? Here are 5 things to know
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Rates of cancer declining in Canada, but more work needed to save lives: projections
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Canucks hold off Oilers for 4-3 win in Game 3
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.