Roblin loses ER amid Prairie Mountain staff shuffle

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This article was published 31/08/2020 (1951 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shared Health will temporarily close the emergency room in Roblin on Friday after reassigning some of the community health centre’s diagnostic staff to Russell.

The Parkland community more than 400 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg will be without an emergency department effective Sept. 4 at 4 p.m., Shared Health said in a news release.

“The temporary relocation of diagnostic services in the geographic area are due to staff vacancies caused by recent retirements, maternity leaves and staff departures,” said Petr Kresta, Shared Health chief operating officer, diagnostic services.

“Diagnostic services, including X-ray services, are being relocated at the Russell Health Centre.”

Russell is located 50 km south of Roblin.

The emergency room closure comes on the heels of warnings from area residents who worried moving X-ray and laboratory analysis out of town would spell the end for the local hospital. Residents will now have to go to Russell or Grandview (50 km east) for emergencies.

Ultrasound, electrocardiogram and blood sample collection will continue at the Roblin Health Centre on weekdays, on a limited schedule.

Prairie Mountain Health region chief executive officer Penny Gilson said the authority has received a number of calls and emails from the community concerned about the change.

“Discussions with medical leadership in the region have identified the risk associated with continuing to operate an emergency department without urgent access to diagnostic services,” Gilson said in a statement. “However, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily direct community members in need of urgent care to other facilities in the area.”

The local clinic board has been trying to recruit and retain doctors and health-care staff for the community, despite the regional health authority rebuking the board’s efforts, Roblin head of council Robert Misko said. Most recently, the community-led board has found eligible candidates wanting to work in Roblin and provided their resumes to the health authority.

The health authority has told the board Russell takes precedence over Roblin when it comes to staffing, Misko said.

“They took our two staff. You’d think if we found two more that means OK, Russell is taken care of and until they find whatever extra they need for Russell, they can open Roblin back up with the two staff,” Misko said. “We’d still be undermanned, but we’d be at least where we were a week ago, still providing service.

“Our lab has been short two employees for probably over six months, and as far as we know, they haven’t posted those positions. They’re saying they can’t find anyone to work, they can’t find anyone to fill them, but it doesn’t look like you’re looking very hard.

Shared Health said emergency service providers are aware of the upcoming change and “have systems in place to ensure timely access to emergency care continues,” with sufficient ambulance availability and response capacity in Roblin and its surrounding area.