People in southwestern Manitoba are being warned that many Prairie Mountain Health emergency departments will withdraw or suspend services during the summer amid staff shortages and the holidays.
The change is a result of staff shortage, staff leave and holidays, the health authority said in a news release on Thursday.
The following list of changes to hospitals will be made this summer, Prairie Mountain Health said:
- Treherne: ER and hospital admissions temporarily suspended.
- Grandview: ER services are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Overnight and weekend ER services have been temporarily suspended from 8 July.
- Melita: ER and hospital admission temporarily suspended till 30 June.
- Soris: ER services are available 24 hours a day, except on Mondays and Wednesdays, when services will be suspended from 4 July.
Laboratory and clinical services remain unchanged during the summer at the above sites.
This area suggests that anyone seeking emergency services call their local health center to find the nearest open ER. Up-to-date schedules are also available on the Prairie Mountain Health website.
The health authority “continues to work on the recruitment of physicians and other professional and skilled health care workers,” it said in its news release.
Staffing and servicing constraints have led to ERs being temporarily closed or moved to urgent care facilities in some Prairie Mountain communities over the years.
In a meeting with community members in Grandview in May, the health authority said it expected 20 doctor vacancies in the area by the end of the summer.
In its Thursday release, the health authority says it will “continue to work with communities so that we can work together to encourage people to stay and work within their health sector.”
