Residents of Southeast New Brunswick are being asked to reduce their visits to the emergency departments at the Dumont Hospital and the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital unless urgent care is needed.
Vitalité Health Network calls the current situation difficult with a large number of patients in the ER combined with a lack of staff.
“We are asking that people go to the emergency department only if their health condition requires critical care. The high occupancy level and shortage of human resources are currently putting extra strain on our medical and nursing staff. This measure aims to reduce the volume of patients while the situation stabilizes,” stated Sharon Smyth-Okana, Vitalité vice-president of clinical services.
If your health needs are not critical, officials urge people to visit a family doctor, consult a pharmacist, go to a walk-in clinic or call Tele-Care 811.
People who do go to the ER for non-urgent reasons are asked to be patient and can expect unusually long waits.
