The Sackville Memorial Hospital will no longer be accepting acute care patients given a chronic shortage of nurses.
Horizon Health said it made a difficult decision to temporarily convert all inpatient acute care beds to transitional care beds for patients waiting for placements in long-term care facilities.
Sackville Memorial Hospital (SMH) executive director Christa Wheeler-Thorne said the staffing situation continues to deteriorate.
“The inpatient unit at SMH is currently operating with only 3 of the 10 FTE nursing positions actively working. While our recruitment efforts remain ongoing, five of these 10 positions remain vacant and have for some time.
Given the chronic shortage of nursing staff at SMH, in order to provide safe and quality care we had to make the difficult but necessary decision to temporarily convert all inpatient acute care beds to transitional care beds for patients awaiting long-term care placement. These decisions are not made in haste and always with the safety of our patients and staff in the forefront.
To safely resume acute inpatient care we would require, at minimum, 6 of the 10 nursing positions to be actively working at the hospital. Where LPN and PCA recruitment is more stable, this temporary staffing model will assist in providing better care for alternate level of care (ALC) patients at SMH in the interim,” noted Wheeler-Thorne.
The hospital currently has 13 inpatients, four of whom are receiving acute care and awaiting discharge.
The change will have no impact on laboratory and diagnostic imaging services.
Anyone who needs to be admitted to hospital will have to be transferred to another facility.
Sackville Memorial lost overnight emergency department service last month also due to staffing shortages.
“We are as disappointed as the members of the community as it relates to this situation, and we feel for our physicians and staff who have had to work under circumstances that are far from ideal,” added Wheeler-Thorne.
“Despite these significant challenges, we remain fully committed to working with the community toward the common goal of eventually restoring acute care and 24-7 Emergency Department services at Sackville Memorial Hospital.”
Sackville Town Council Disgruntled
Representatives from Horizon Health attended a Sackville Town Council meeting on Monday night and were met with a recurring message: actions speak louder than words.
One by one, councillors reminded Horizon officials of the previous promises made to ensure that adequate services remain available to the community.
“Let me assure you that although we are thrilled you are here, this is not the end of it, so if you feel relief after the meeting, know that we don’t yet,” said Coun. Allison Butcher.
“What we are seeing is the death of our community, the death of our university, and it is directly related to our hospital.”
A letter from the Memramcook-Tantramar Community Task Force and the Rural Health Action Group, dated Dec. 6, recognizes the damage this decision will have on the relationship between the health network and the community.
Coun. Sabine Dietz, who sits on the action group, brought forward a motion that the Town of Sackville make an official statement and send a letter to the provincial government in full support of the letter.
The motion passed with the exception of a paragraph in the letter that states the members will advise the town and citizens to cease its support or funding for anything related to Horizon Health.
