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The Almonte General Hospital announced Tuesday evening it would close its emergency department overnight because of a nursing staff shortage caused by illness.
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The overnight closure, which is set to take place from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, is the second in a week caused by sickness. It was also closed overnight Friday, Dec. 23.
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The rest of the hospital remained open to care for patients. Mary Wilson Trider, the hospital’s CEO, said in a media release that its “dedicated teams at both Almonte General Hospital and Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital continue to work to ensure we have the necessary staff to support our community with their health care needs.
“We are closely supported by our team at the Lanark County Paramedic Service,” she said.
People were also guided to speak with a registered nurse at Telehealth Ontario, if needed, by calling toll-free 1-866-797-0007 or TTY 1-866-797-0007. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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On its website, the Perth and Smiths Falls hospital advised that, as of 6 p.m. Tuesday, it was “experiencing significant capacity issues at both sites of our hospital with a high volume of patients admitted to hospital and emergency departments.
“We will assess each person and treat the sickest patients first,” it said. “This means that some patients may experience a longer wait.”
The Queensway Carleton hospital also noted online Tuesday evening that it was experiencing longer than usual wait times.
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