Nursing shortages lead Canmore hospital to close obstetrics on weekends | 24CA News
The working room at Canmore General Hospital is shutting down on weekends on account of a scarcity of nurses.
“This OR closure means our obstetrical team will be unable to provide Cesarean section coverage, and as such, we will need to divert all obstetrical patients to Calgary during the weekend from Friday afternoon until Monday morning,” Mountain Maternity and Family Medicine mentioned in an announcement.
That means pregnant sufferers must make the hour-long drive right into a Calgary hospital.
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The maternity clinic mentioned it was a “temporary” measure anticipated to final till March 27 and it’s nonetheless capable of present full providers on the Canmore hospital on weekdays.
“To ensure patient safety, we ask all patients to proceed to Foothills Hospital for any of their concerns,” Mountain Maternity mentioned. “Because of EMS difficulties and shortages, presenting to Canmore Hospital first may only delay appropriate care.”
According to the Alberta Health Services web site, no different hospitals within the Calgary zone had been experiencing non permanent service disruptions as of Friday. But 34 websites throughout the province had been experiencing service disruptions, seven of which impacted obstetrics:
- Canmore General Hospital will “divert obstetrics patients” from Feb. 3 at 4:30 p.m. till Monday Feb. 6 at 7 a.m., with that anticipated to proceed till March 27.
- Three Hills Health Centre will “temporarily have no obstetrical services on site” from Dec. 16, 2021, to Feb. 25, 2023.
- Myron Thompson Health Centre in Sundre, Alta., may have no obstetrical providers on web site on account of “temporary physician shortage” from April 6, 2020, to March 1.
- W.J. Cadzow Healthcare Centre in Lac La Biche, Alta., may have no obstetrical or C-section providers on account of “temporary physician shortage” beginning Jan. 20 and no anticipated finish date.
- Westlock Healthcare Centre has no obstetrics on web site on account of a “temporary staff shortage” from Sept. 29, 2022 to March 6.
- Barrhead Healthcare Cetnre has no anesthesia protection for surgical procedure and C-sections on account of “temporary physician shortage” from Jan. 26 to Feb. 28, aside from Feb. 7 and Feb. 14.
- Edson Healthcare Centre has a “temporary disruption in obstetrics,” limiting deliveries to solely these that don’t require C-section backup, from Feb. 2 to Feb. 5.
The Canmore maternity clinic is asking any OR or obstetrics nurses who’re ready and prepared to work on weekends to succeed in out to the Canmore General Hospital or Mountain Maternity and Family Medicine.
“We want the best for our patients, and we understand that many of our patients specifically choose Mountain Maternity and Canmore Hospital because of our unique atmosphere,” the clinic added. “We do not want this outcome for our patients, and we are sorry that the stresses to the health-care system have prompted this.”
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