May 31, 2023
By Jeremy Logan
Due to physician personnel shortages, Niagara Health’s urgent care sites in Port Colborne and Fort Erie will no longer be open overnight.
According to President and C.E.O. Lynn Guerriero, the hospital network took the choice in order to maintain its three emergency departments in Welland, Niagara Falls, and St. Catharines open.
Guerriero claims that Niagara Health’s emergency department physician group had warned that the ER’s would be short 274 physician shifts in the coming months.
Beginning July 5th, the urgent care centres will be closed from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. daily.
According to a spokesperson, the decision is deemed permanent for the time being, because Niagara Health does not expect the staff shortages will be remedied very soon.
The decision by Niagara Health comes only one day before the ER in Minden, Ontario, closes permanently, with Haliburton Highlands Health Services relocating all emergency services to its Haliburton campus, roughly 25 kilometres away.
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