The emergency department in Roblin will be shut down until further notice as of Friday, September 4.
Some community members are now expressing their concerns, with this news coming just days after the announcement that Roblin’s lab staff were being relocated to Russell to address staff shortages.
The suspension of emergency department services goes into effect at 4 p.m. on September 4.
In a press release, Prairie Mountain Health CEO, Penny Gilson, says "we acknowledge the community has concerns about this impact on local service and that has been reflected in the number of emails and phone calls we have already received.” Gilson added that ultimately the decision was made to “temporarily direct community members in need of urgent care to other facilities in the area."
In the event of a health emergency, health officials are advising community members to call 911, or make the 30 minute trip to the emergency department in Russell or Grandview.
A Shared Health spokesperson said in an email that services are being “temporarily consolidated at Russell Health Centre due to a number of staff vacancies throughout the area”. The spokesperson added that recruitment to fill these positions is ongoing.
At this time there are still several clinical services that will continue at the Roblin District Health Centre. This includes in-patient care, diagnostic services like ultrasounds, ECG exams and lab sample collection.
