er closures: patients' worst fear is coming true across canada

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health-care worker shortages, made worse by covid, are causing emergency rooms to close throughout the country.

by emma jones

published mar 31, 2022

last updated feb 24, 2025

3 minute read

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3 minute read

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er closures: patients' worst fear is coming true across canada

communicating the status of emergency rooms is left up to individual hospitals, ontario health explained in an email to healthing. getty

the margaret cochenour memorial hospital in red lake, ontario closed its er for 24 hours last saturday, a recent example of a canada-wide crisis of how burnout and covid-19 illness is exacerbating pre-existing health care worker shortages.

for dr. sarah newbery, a family physician in the community of marathon and the assistant dean physician of workforce strategy for the northern ontario school of medicine, the issue is complex.

number of physicians in the north “worrisome”

physician shortages were already a concern in northern ontario before the pandemic — but covid pushed hospital teams to the brink: physicians already tasked with a significant workload were also managing covid screening centres and vaccination clinics. plus, travel and quarantine restrictions made it difficult for visiting specialists and medical students who would usually provide additional support to rotate through the hospitals. and for some, especially physicians over the age of 65 or those who were immunocompromised, the risk of staying on through the pandemic was too great.

“in december of 2020, we needed 86 [physicians] across northern ontario. last june, that was up to 97. now, as last count in december of 2021, we needed 103,” says newbery. “so the shift, and the decline, in the number of family physicians, living in and working in rural communities across the north has been quite worrisome over the last two years in particular.”

northern ontario isn’t the only place feeling the strain. from march 25 to 27, the emergency department at the sussex health centre in new brunswick had to close each night due to a shortage of nurses. when the decision was made, more than 100 health-care workers throughout zone 2, the administration region that includes sussex, were isolating due to exposure to covid-19, according to the cbc.

and earlier in march, a small hospital on vancouver island closed for an entire weekend — from 7 a.m. on friday, march 4, to noon on monday, march 7 — due to an “unanticipated temporary physician shortage.” residents in need of medical assistance were asked instead to go to port hardy hospital, approximately 42 kilometres away.

“we are struggling with each shift,” ottawa nephrologist dr. swapnil hiremath, who works at the ottawa hospital, told the national post. “at the best of times we struggle, but it is worse right now. there are a lot of staff with covid or isolating.”

what happens when an emergency room closes

communicating the status of emergency rooms is left up to individual hospitals, ontario health explained in an email to healthing. in the case of margaret cochenour memorial hospital, that meant communicating the closure through local media, posting paper notices throughout the community and writing announcements on facebook. in a particularly haunting image, hospital road signs were covered so residents would not be mistakenly directed to the emergency room.

in rural manitoba, residents are asked to call 911 in an emergency and paramedics will transport patients to an open er, carberry mayor stuart olmstead told the winnipeg free press. the regional health authority has started to alert the community in advance of any foreseen closure, posting notices on the prairie mountain health’s site and on its social media channels.

calling 911 in case of an emergency, instead of hopping in a car and having a friend or family member driving to the local er, seems to be the best method of ensuring you have the information you need to determine whether or not your local emergency room is open. tuning into local media to hear the latest health-care updates may also be a habit some residents will want to pick up.

emma jones is a multimedia editor with healthing. you can reach her at emjones@postmedia.com or on twitter @jonesyjourn.

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