As the summer months approach, Quinte Health Care officials say they will make every effort to keep the Bancroft emergency department open.
Emergency departments across the province, particularly those in smaller, rural communities have been hit especially hard by staffing shortages, causing several short-term closures.
Many of the closures occurred last summer, but continued on into the winter and this spring at some Ontario hospitals.
North Hastings Hospital in Bancroft, while also facing shortages, has been an exception and has continued to provide 24/7 coverage Emergency Medicine and other essential services.
With the traditionally busier summer months ahead, QHC says its North Hastings physicians exemplify the best of rural medicine and are a highly dedicated group who have stepped up to keep the emergency department running.
Steps will be taken to avoid temporary closures including utilizing physician coverage, if available, through a provincial locum program, which allows doctors to work in hospitals requiring coverage on a temporary basis.
A report from the province’s financial accountability office showed there were at least 145 unplanned emergency department closures in Ontario in 2022, including multiple short-term closures of the Campbellford Memorial Hospital Emergency Department.
