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Hospitals in Seaforth and St. Marys temporarily closing ERs overnight

St. Marys Memorial Hospital in a photo from the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance's Twitter page. St. Marys Memorial Hospital in a photo from the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance's Twitter page.
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Seaforth Community Hospital and St. Marys Memorial Hospital, in the town of St. Marys, are temporarily closing their emergency rooms starting at 5 p.m. Friday.

The ER in Seaforth will reopen at 7 a.m. on Saturday and resume its regular hours of operation.

The emergency room in St. Marys, meanwhile, will be shut down until Sunday morning. That means it will be closed the entirety of Saturday and on Sunday, it will only be open between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. The hospital ER will return to regular hours starting Monday at 7 a.m.

The Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) said the ER closures are once again a result of staffing shortages.

In a media release, the HPHA said "increased demands on the healthcare system, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, are leading to staffing vacancies.”

They added that these “pressures are expected to continue throughout the summer."

"The decision to reduce hours, while remarkably difficult, is the most responsible decision we can make when looking at the overall provision of emergency care across our region," said HPHA President and CEO Andrew Williams in the release.

Anyone requiring immediate medical during the overnight closures is still advised to call 911. The HPHA said paramedics will take patients to nearest emergency room at Stratford General Hospital, South Huron Hospital in Exeter, Alexandra Hospital in Ingersoll, University Hospital or Victoria Hospital in London.Both the St. Marys Memorial Hospital & Seaforth Community Hospital Emergency Departments will be closing at 5 p.m. today (July 22).

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