In rural communities, the future of hospitals is an issue that worries many citizens. Some hospitals do not have emergency rooms open 24 hours a day and others close emergency rooms regularly. Frustrated citizens hope the next government will remedy the situation.
The emergency room at Memorial Hospital in Sackville is open 7 days a week, but from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. only.
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Sandra Gilroy is a resident of Sackville.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ian Bonnell
Sandra Gilroy, who has lived in Sackville all her life, believes it would be much safer to have an emergency service available at all times.
If there is an emergency, it would be nice to be able to go to your own hospital in Sackville, she explains.
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Gina Blomquist faced challenges when her husband was ill and the emergency room at Sackville Memorial Hospital was closed.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ian Bonnell
Another Sackville resident, Gina Blomquist, experienced the backlash of not having an emergency room open at all times when her husband was sick.
They need more staff and to keep it open there are a lot of people sick.
A quote from Sackville resident Gina Blomquist
When emergency rooms are closed, patients must be transported to the Moncton Hospital or the Amherst Hospital in Nova Scotia.
Similar situation in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent
Although the emergency room at Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital in Sainte-Anne is open 24 hours every day, the establishment has had to be closed several times due to a lack of staff. These closures mainly occurred on weekends.
This is a reality that greatly worries citizens, like Laurie Saulnier.
Sometimes they talk about closing emergency rooms, and then sometimes, it’s even been closed off especially on weekends. If you have an accident here, where will you go? he asks himself.
A priority of election candidates
The Liberal candidate in Kent-Sud and former Minister of Health, Benoît Bourque, believes that the last government did not manage this issue well.
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The Liberal candidate in Kent-South, Benoît Bourque.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ian Bonnell
If I am elected, it is a priority, I put it in the mailing that I made that it is my number one priority, the Sainte-Anne hospital, quality care, 7 days a week. 7, 24 hours a day.
The occupancy rate of beds for people waiting for long-term care is 115% in this hospital, the highest rate in the province.
Benoît Bourque compares the establishment to a care home.
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Several demonstrations were organized following Blaine Higgs’ announcement, including this one in front of the Memorial Hospital in Sackville, New Brunswick, on February 13, 2020.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Jean-Philippe Hughes
The future of rural hospitals made headlines in February 2020, when Premier Blaine Higgs decided to close six rural hospital emergency rooms overnight. The government finally backed down in the face of public opposition.
The Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Beausoleil-Grand-Bouctouche-Kent, Ann Bastarache, takes the survival of the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital to heart and does not intend to close emergency rooms is done again.
Stella-Maris is our home and I am 100% strongly in the belief that we must keep this hospital open.
A quote from Ann Bastarache, Progressive Conservative candidate, Beausoleil-Grand-Bouctouche-Kent
Priority issue in Caraquet
Louise Blanchard, long-time activist for the Hôpital-de-l’Enfant-Jésus in Caraquet and vice-president of the organization Égalité santé en français, believes there is still work to do.
The survival of rural hospitals, the provision of services and regional management are priorities, according to her.
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Louise Blanchard, vice-president of the Equality health in French organization in 2020.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Alix Villeneuve
We want more and everyone agrees that we cannot yet endure what we suffered several years ago when we closed six emergency rooms overnight.
What do the leaders say?
On Monday, the Green Party announced its promise to restore local authority in hospitals to guarantee greater autonomy.
According to party leader David Coon, this local governance would help keep rural emergencies open.
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Green Party leader David Coon and candidate Megan Mitton announced to restore local authority in hospitals on October 7.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Kristina Cormier
The leader of the Liberal Party, Susan Holt, recognizes that several hospitals are overflowing with people waiting for a place in a long-term care establishment.
We have several proposals for how we will implement home care solutions and then pay increases for attendants so that beds in care homes can reopen, she emphasizes.
The Progressive Conservative Party did not respond to our request for comment.
