Peel Memorial Hospital will close its center at 5 p.m. on Sunday, instead of the usual closing time of 9 p.m.
PLEASE NOTE: The Urgent Care Center at Peel Memorial will close at 5:00 p.m. today July 10.
The Emergency Departments at Brampton Civic Hospital and Etobicoke General Hospital are open for emergency or urgent care. — William Osler Health System (@OslerHealth) July 10, 2022 “Like many hospitals, we face staffing challenges and continue to explore all strategies to help our teams continue to provide exemplary care to our community,” William Osler said in response to questions about when the center would reopen. “As always, our first priority remains the health and safety of our patients, staff, doctors, volunteers and community. We ask for the understanding of our community at this difficult time.” The center will reopen with regular hours on Monday. Emergency departments at both Brampton Civic Hospital and Etobicoke General Hospital remain open. Emergency and urgent care centers across the province have seen reduced hours, consolidated staffing and forced closures this month, including hospitals in Clinton, Kingston and Perth, Ont. Workforce shortages have been fueled by workers leaving hospital roles or the profession altogether after more than two grueling years on the front lines of the pandemic, say organizations representing nurses, doctors and public hospitals in the province. “The understaffing is (due to) attrition and people leaving,” Ontario Nurses Association President Kathryn Hoey said in an interview last week. “But why they burn out is because they come in for an eight- or 12-hour shift and stay 16 hours. Sometimes they stay 24 hours.” Hoy said she has heard from nurses who reported that emergency rooms are temporarily staffed with one nurse to cover 30 patients, some hospitals with dozens of empty ER seats and patients being cared for in hallways. “A nurse can’t be everywhere,” she said. Ontario’s Ministry of Health said the province is working to boost workforce capacity by offering one-time retention bonuses and providing funds to hire more nurses in targeted areas across the province. With files from The Canadian Press.
