Kemptville District Hospital temporarily closing emergency department

The Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) has announced a temporary closure of its emergency department.

In a statement Wednesday, the hospital writes, “administration has made the very difficult decision to put in place a temporary partial closure of its Emergency Department (ED) due to ongoing staffing shortages.”

At this point, the closure will run nightly from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. from August 31 to September 6.

“Like hospitals across the country, KDH is experiencing a sustained, system-wide pressure on our emergency department staffing levels due to COVID-related absences, vacations, staff fatigue and burnout,” said Frank J. Vassallo, the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer.

Vassallo’s statement continued, “I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to our frontline nursing and support staff, who have worked extremely hard throughout the course of the pandemic.”

The hospital says it is working to recruit staff and will resume 24-hour emergency service as soon as possible.

KDH says anyone requiring immediate medical attention should call 911 and paramedics will take them to the nearest Emergency Department for care.