Emergency is Open at Strathroy Hospital

The Emergency Department at the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital (SMGH) site of the Middlesex Hospital Alliance (MHA) is open and has remained opened 24/7 so far this summer. "We're open and we're working to stay that way," Mike Mazza, CEO of the MHA, says.

Last month hospital administration warned that intermittent closures might become necessary during this summer. There were several doctors retiring and that, in addition to summer holidays, was creating gaps in scheduling. "It is important for us to keep the community up to date on what happens at the MHA. We wanted to let the community know at that time that a closure could happen," Mazza says.

"At this time, our staffing is looking much better for Emergency Department (ED) coverage," Dr. Julie Copeland, the new Chief of Emergency Services at SMGH, says. "We are working day and night to ensure our ED at SMGH will not close this summer."

When Dr. Copeland took the reins last month, she hit the ground running. "There are three Emergency physician shifts per day, so 21 shifts per week. When I started there were 47 uncovered shifts in July and 59 in August. We are now down to five open shifts in July and five open shifts in August. A vast gain. We are in a more secure position for staffing. I am confident we can continue to keep the ED open 24/7," Dr. Copeland says.

Dr. Copeland practices out of her office at the Southwest Middlesex Health Centre in Mt. Brydges and assumed the position of Chief of Emergency Services at Strathroy on June 1, 2008. The SMGH Emergency Department is a busy place. Last year there were 28,000 visits.

To maintain full time Emergency services at the Strathroy site, the MHA has engaged in a number of strategies. "Our own family physicians have jumped in and increased the number of hours they are working. Dr. Paul Ferner has even come out of retirement to help with shifts. We are very grateful to these physicians," Dr. Copeland says. "We are also thankful to our Alliance partner, Four Counties, and the family physicians that staff that Emergency Department," Dr. Copeland says. Four Counties, often seen as the "little sister" in the Alliance, has been a big help. FCHS has not been affected by the Emergency physician shortage. The Four Counties Health Services ED remains open 24/7. "Physicians from Four Counties have been invaluable in keeping Strathroy staffed," Dr. Copeland says.

"Additionally, we have called upon colleagues in Sarnia, London and St. Thomas areas to help out in covering the ED shifts. We are very pleased to be able to work with these professionals," Dr. Copeland says.

The MHA has also been approved for HealthForce Ontario coverage and has approached MedEmerg to assist in finding temporary and full time emergency physicians for this summer.

HealthForce Ontario is the province's strategy to ensure that Ontarians have access to qualified healthcare providers. HealthForce Ontario involves the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) through several initiatives that identify health human resource needs, develop new provider roles, and work with the education system. "Working with HealthForce Ontario has been beneficial," Dr. Copeland says.

The MHA's Strathroy hospital is not expecting any closures of the ED in the short term. If that situation changes, the hospital will alert the public with appropriate notice. "We'll use our web site and local media, including radio stations, to let people know the dates and times of any temporary closures," Mazza says. The MHA web site address is http://www.mhalliance.on.ca/

There is a provincial shortage of Emergency physicians and the MHA is not immune to it. In the past, the MHA, like many smaller hospital sites, has relied on family practice physicians to cover all the shifts in ED - 24/7, 365 days a year. "This is changing at hospitals everywhere in Ontario," Dr. Copeland says. We are looking to recruit more physicians for the ED, especially ED-focused physicians."

There is a transformation taking place in Emergency Departments, in the role of the Emergency Department in small, primary level hospitals and in larger centres and especially in how they interrelate with each other. Emergency medicine and the way it is organized and administered in hospitals - from physician staffing to the interrelation between ED sites is undergoing a transformation, Mazza says.

"We are planning and working with our partners to develop strategies to deal with the shifting landscape of Emergency service delivery. We have a strategy in place in recruit five new ED-focused doctors," Mazza says.

Connecting with the Future of Care

Emergency is Open at Strathroy Hospital