Sackville hospital loses all its beds for acute care because of nurse shortage

Sackville residents already angry with the loss of emergency department hours have more to worry about after the Horizon Health Network announced it was temporarily closing all theinpatientbeds at the local hospital.

The acute-care beds will be convertedto beds for people waiting for long-term care, Horizon says.

Shawn Mesheau, the mayor of Sackville, saidpeople in his community are very concerned about the latest change, which follows a reduction in emergency department hours during the summer that was originally announced as temporary but hascarried on.

"The weekend was busy with messages and emails," Mesheau told Information Morning Moncton. He saidresidents are concerned this is the beginning of the end for the town's emergency services.

Sackville normally has four to five beds used for acute care and 10 beds for long-term care.

Last week, Eileen MacGibbon, vice-president clinical serviceswith Horizon Health,said the bed conversion was temporary and made necessary because of the"ongoing nursing shortage"at the hospital.

"This temporary change in service is necessary for Horizon to continue offering safe and quality care to our inpatients at Sackville Memorial Hospital," she said.

Sackville patients who require acute care will be transferred to the Moncton Hospital, MacGibbon said. The drive to the hospital takes 40 minutes to an hour.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this temporary change in service may cause,"MacGibbon said.

Rally organized for Wednesday

A rally to call for the restoration of services is planned for Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. outside the hospital on Main Street.

Mesheau said council and residents found out about the change in hospital bedson Friday, and there had been"no indication" the loss of acute-care beds was coming.

But he said the health-care system has been struggling with recruitment, and Horizon and community groups continue to try to attract health professionals.

"It was indicated last night that two new grad [recruits]were hired recently for the ER, so they're currently going through their orientation. And that was good news to hear."

Mesheau said the only thing Sackville residents can do during the closure is be optimistic.

"It's not just Sackville that's facing this," he said. "We have to be hopeful, I guess. That's all we can do at this point in time that we are making the right effortsand being supportive in the right way in order to see this come to an end sooner than later."