No current plans to reopen overnight emergency services in Alberton, P.E.I.

There are no plans to reopen overnight emergency services at Western Hospital in Alberton any time soon, according to Health P.E.I.

In fact, the future of the collaborative emergency centre at the hospital likely hinges on a review of province-wide emergency services currently underway.

And Health P.E.I. is suggesting ongoing staffing challenges will lead to further changes in the way care is delivered across the province.

The CEC had been staffed by a nurse and a paramedic to offer overnight emergency care in Alberton.

On Aug. 1, after numerous intermittent closures, Health P.E.I. said it was suspending the service until Sept. 15, due to continuing staff shortages.

Then on Sept. 15, the agency said the unit would remain closed until late October, with the possibility the shutdown could last into November.

On Nov. 3, Health P.E.I. announced the CEC would remain closed until at least January 2023.

This week the agency said it has no current plans to reopen the service, and any future decision will hinge on the results of the review, first announced in November.

Dylana Arsenault, executive director of hospital service and patient flow with Health P.E.I., said it's not that the CEC "didn't provide a service to the area, but it may not have offered the most service to the most patients."

Health P.E.I. has said there were about 200 visits to the centre per year — fewer than one per night.

"We're trying to decide: do we want to reopen that service … or should we use our resources in a different way to offer support?" said Arsenault.

Alberton has an emergency department with physician coverage that operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with the CEC covering the overnight hours.

The daytime ER has been subject to periodic closures due to a lack of staff, but is otherwise still operating.

Arsenault said it could be another three to six months before the review is complete, and in the meantime Health P.E.I. has neither "the evidence or the staffing to reopen [the CEC] at this point in time."