Since 2022, hospitals in Carleton Place and Almonte have closed their emergency departments overnight at least 29 times, making them among the most frequently closed in Eastern Ontario.
Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital has had 15 emergency department closures since August 2022 and Almonte General Hospital has had 14 closures since July 2023, related to staff shortages.
Now, as Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital prepares to open its new emergency department, the alliance that operates the two hospitals west of Ottawa says it has developed a strategy to minimize emergency department closures in the future.
Key to what it is calling proactive actions are changes in the way the hospitals schedule nursing staff.
Caitlin O’Hara, communications lead with the Mississippi River Health Alliance (MRHA), said it has recently increased hiring and recruiting efforts and is now scheduling three nurses for emergency department overnight shifts. In the past, two nurses were scheduled. The change, she said, “provides greater flexibility in the event of unexpected absences such as when somebody calls in sick.”
The hospitals also have an on-call program for nurses who are not scheduled to work but might be required to provide backup. O’Hara said the program has already helped prevent 10 potential emergency department closures.
She said the MRHA is also offering “competitive incentives” to attract and retain skilled nurses and is partnering with education institutions and government programs to “build a sustainable workforce”.
“Temporary closures are always a last resort and we are fully committed to ensuring that patients have access to safe, high-quality care when they need it most,” said O’Hara.
The new Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital emergency department will include advanced infection control, expanded treatment areas and specialized rooms for trauma, mental health and pediatric care, according to the hospital.
Hospital emergency department closures, driven by staffing shortages, began to increase in Ontario in 2022 and have continued to climb.
The Ontario Health Coalition, an advocacy group, reported at least 1,199 temporary or permanent closures of hospital services in 2023 alone.
Last November, the Ontario government said it would invest $510 million over three years “to give more than 20,000 health care learners the opportunity to work in hospitals and home and community care organizations by the end of 2027.” Among other things, a new nursing school is being opened at Carleton University, in collaboration with Ottawa’s Queensway Carleton Hospital.
