Adjustment to the Emergency Department at night at Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Joseph de Saint-Quentin

Saint-Quentin, Thursday, June 16, 2022 – In view of summer vacations in a context of physician shortages, Vitalité Health Network must adjust how the Emergency Department at Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Joseph de Saint-Quentin functions at night, to maintain a medical presence on site and provide care for urgent cases.

Period: June 17 to July 31, 2022 inclusive
Adjustment hours: 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Between June 17 and July 31, 2022, from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., only cases deemed urgent will be seen and treated in the Emergency Department at Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Joseph de Saint-Quentin. Urgent cases correspond to triage levels 1 (resuscitation [e.g., heart attack, major trauma]), 2 (very urgent [e.g., severe respiratory distress]) and 3 (urgent [e.g., digestive hemorrhage, open fracture]).

Other patients must go to neighbouring facilities or come back during the day, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. This will allow the teams to ensure a medical presence on site and maintain continuity of services and care for urgent conditions.

The summer period is always a challenge for the entire Network due to the well deserved vacations of staff and physicians. “We sincerely thank the entire medical team and staff at the Saint-Quentin facility who redouble their efforts to provide emergency services to the public at all times,” said Dr. Natalie Banville, Vice-President of Medical Affairs. “Our priority remains maintaining quality health care and services for the entire population.”

The Network will make sure to keep the dialogue open with the Saint-Quentin and Kedgwick regions, to inform the public of changes that could arise over the summer.

Recruiting efforts continue. The Network is optimistic that it will be able to fill vacant positions as a result of the current and upcoming recruiting campaigns. Just like the people of New Brunswick, the Network, staff and physicians want to return to normal as soon as possible.

“We thank the neighbouring care facilities that will manage all the other patients as well as the population of Restigouche West and the community of Saint-Quentin in particular for their understanding and collaboration in this exceptional situation,” concluded Dr. Banville.