'A very tenuous situation': St. Marys Memorial Hospital temporarily reducing its ER hours

The hospital in St. Marys, Ont., located 20 minutes outside of Stratford, is temporarily reducing its hours of operation in the emergency department because of staffing shortages.

Operations at St. Marys General Hospital in Kitchener are not affected.

Between April 9 and April 12, patients will be admitted to St. Marys Memorial Hospital from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and then the ER will close overnight.

In a release sent to media Friday afternoon, the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance said the reduction would continue until 7 a.m. on April 13.

"In reaching this decision, every safe option available to us has been assessed with temporarily reducing hours of operation the most responsible course of action at this time," said Andrew Williams, the president and CEO, in the release. "Despite these temporary adjustments, we remain fortunate to have a very strong emergency response system across our region. All key partners, including paramedics and adjacent hospital, are aware of this decision. Our team has been doing everything possible to sustain services during these challenging times and I want to acknowledge these incredible and ongoing efforts."

Anyone needing care outside these reduced hours should call 911 and paramedics will patients to the nearest emergency department: Stratford General Hospital, Alexandra Hospital in Ingersoll, University Hospital or Victoria Hospital in London.

"We had a last minute, unfortunate situation staffing-wise," said Williams. "It was based on an absence from a member of our team, and we will evaluate this moving forward.

"I wish I could say never say never, but we are dealing with a very tenuous situation in general right now."

Williams adds that, while there were several factors that led to the decision, COVID-19 is simply having an impact on staffing.

"We have, across our organization, 87 staff off one day last week, 13 physicians, so that does have an impact," he said. "You layer that on top of jus tthe general challenges we're facing."

The president and CEO says the staffing challenges may get worse in the short term, but paramedic staffing levels are being increased to be prepared.

"Our Perth EMS is up-staffed for the four nights, not because we're expecting a large volume of people, but just to be safe," said Williams. "Our Stratford ED, which is 20 km away, is aware of the situation, as are others."

Cambridge Memorial Hospital and Grand River Hospital in Kitchener told CTV News on Friday that they were also short-staffed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Editor's note: This story has been amended to make clear the overnight emergency department closure is happening at St. Marys Memorial Hospital in the Town of St. Marys, not St. Marys General Hospital in Kitchener.