CANSO — As a month-long closure of Eastern Memorial Hospital (EMH’s) emergency room begins, Canso residents are voicing anger over a crisis they say has become a recurring threat, with no end in sight to the area’s doctor shortage.
In an announcement on Saturday, Nova Scotia Health confirmed that with only two staff physicians working alternate shifts, EMH’s emergency department will be closed from 10 a.m. on February 1 until 12 p.m. on February 28.
Meanwhile, it said, virtual urgent care at the hospital – which serves a catchment area of about 800 people from Queensport to Canso to Tor Bay – would be available “onsite, Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hours subject to change. Patient registration ends 30 minutes before closing.”
The closure notice – the second multi-week shutdown since November – prompted swift responses from area residents on Facebook, including some calling it “pitiful” and “unbelievable.” Another stated, “rural Canada has been forgotten.” Still another declared this as “one of many reasons we are selling our house.”
Canso & Area Development Association president Harold Roberts warned that the closure has left many people in the area genuinely worried about their safety.
“People’s lives are at stake here,” he told The Journal in an interview. “You can’t put a price on someone’s life... This is an essential service... The distance to get to that kind of care or treatment outside of the hospital in Canso is at least half hour drive if you’re lucky.”
Roberts also said the hospital’s virtual urgent care service, though useful, cannot substitute for a proper ER and “hand-on” physician care. “I understand it [virtual service] and there’s no question about it, but there are going to be situations where it will not be the answer to a pressing issue, a life-and-death scenario that unfolds. Virtual care can only do so much. You still need doctor on site to deal with issues.”
EMH introduced virtual urgent care last year to people coming into the hospital with important, but non-life-threatening conditions, such as: sinus congestion, coughs and sore throat, urinary tract infections, bites and stings, and mild-to-moderate aches and pains. According to the NSH website, while “virtual urgent care will be particularly helpful during times when the local emergency department is temporarily closed... it is not a replacement for the local emergency department.”
In an interview with The Journal, Andrew Heighton, Nova Scotia Health (NSH’s) director of integrated rural health for the Eastern Zone, agreed that while virtual urgent care can do many things it’s not designed to do everything, stating: “The real solution is to recruit and retain more doctors and other providers, like nurse practitioners.”
Most recently, he said, NSH has been working with a recruitment consultant to attract more locums – doctors who fill in for permanent staff – to Eastern Zone hospitals like EMH. “That’s a new dedicated position looking for locum opportunities, putting up postings specifically for Eastern Memorial Hospital, with dedicated resources and focussed efforts.”
Beyond this, he said, “we have a few individuals who are looking at nurse practitioners – looking to support them – which will provide further access in the communities around primary care and urgent care... We are striving to recruit.”
Ultimately, Roberts said, the province must create more attractive incentives for doctors to move to and remain in the area. “One of this issues is housing and that’s something that needs to be addressed – healthcare providers need to have affordable housing available to them. Without that, it’s a real disincentive to come to the area. It’s a barrier... I know that is something that the Municipality of the District of Guysborough [MODG] is concerned with.”
In 2023, the MODG transferred land to the Housing Trust of Nova Scotia to support the provincial government’s Housing for Healthcare Initiative, aiming to provide affordable accommodations for doctors, nurses and other medical workers in both the shiretown of Guysborough and Canso. Townhouse-style homes are set to open in the former and are expected to be underway in the latter in over the next several months.
Said Roberts: “Healthcare is a huge priority for the [provincial] government. It’s the top priority. But there’s got to be a way to deal with rural health care delivery that doesn’t put people at risk.”
