ALBERTON, P.E.I. - Mayor David Gordon welcomed some news from a member of the Western Hospital Foundation during the Alberton town council meeting on Monday, Jan. 14.
Krystyna Pottier told council she has been informed by the hospital administrator there are no emergency room closures anticipated at the hospital for the rest of the month, and February’s schedule is also fully booked with physicians.
Pottier said the situation a week ago - when the Collaborative Emergency Centre operated for an extended period to cover off for a 12-hour shift when a doctor wasn’t available to staff the emergency room - was due to an illness in the scheduled physician's family.
Her reports followed comments by the mayor that the recent closures the hospital’s ER has experienced are concerning.
The mayor said the closures over the Christmas and New Year's period impacted more than just Alberton.
“It (affects) West Prince. This is our Emergency up here,” Gordon said. “When this is shut down, it’s added pressure to EMS. ...They’re on standby all the time anyway, but it’s added pressure to them, and it’s added pressure to the emergency hospital in Summerside.”
Gordon also reported on a meeting councillors held earlier Monday with local MLA and cabinet minister Pat Murphy, who assured council that two new doctors are coming to West Prince.
The message the mayor presented during the meeting is that council wants to meet with physician recruiters and Health P.E.I. to discuss how the town can help.
