There appears to have been a large and possibly record-setting number of temporary ER closures or service interruptions across the country in 2023 so far, with CTV News finding hundreds instances where a hospital emergency unit, usually in a rural community, has been shut down for hours or days to Canadians seeking emergency care.
Live in a fairly rural area of Canada, the hospital closest to me closes at night. No new patients can come in. They are too understaffed. They used to let in serious emergencies but they don’t anymore. So it’s better to call 911 than to drive someone to a hospital yourself.
If I call 911, they send us to one of the hospitals about twice the distance away. It’s not super far thankfully, 40mins instead of 20 but still.
Unfortunately, in an emergency situation an extra 20 minutes can be deadly.
I am painfully aware, we took my dad to the closer hospital and he didn’t make it there.