Emergency department service in Pine Falls temporarily suspended

Residents in an eastern Manitoba community will be without access to the local emergency departmentuntil further notice.

The Pine Falls Health Complex in Powerview-Pine Falls suspended emergency service on Friday afternoon for the immediate future, the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority said in a news release.

The length of the suspension is not known, but is related to a shortage of emergency department nursing staff, the region'srelease adds.

The region is directing individuals seeking in-person emergency department serviceto attend the Pinawa Hospital.

Pine Falls physicians will be picking up shifts in Pinawa to support the anticipated increase in demand.

The region is providing extended hours access to primary care at the Pine Fallsclinic during the suspension of emergency service in the community. Residents are asked to continue to watch region's emergency department schedules for updatesatwww.ierha.ca.

Care for inpatients at Pine Falls hospital, which is about 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, is unchanged, and the hospital will continue to admit patients in need of care. Laboratory and dialysis services will continue to be available according to their respective schedules, says the region.

The suspension of health services has been felt in other parts of the provincein recent months after more than two years of pandemic response.