Victoria County residents worry as Baddeck ER's temporary closure passes two-year mark

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Nova Scotia Health officials accidental the exigency section closure astatine the Victoria County Memorial Hospital successful Baddeck is conscionable temporary, but country residents are starting to interest much than 2 years aft the ER was replaced with an urgent attraction centre.

Spectators crowded into the region assembly enclosure successful Baddeck connected Monday, wherever provincial officials provided an update connected the area's health-care facilities.

They said the ER successful Baddeck cannot reopen until the state tin find doctors trained and consenting to instrumentality exigency shifts astatine a agrarian facility.

Dr. Mary Hutchison, who worked successful the North Sydney country for 40 years and retired successful 2018, said successful an interrogation aft the assembly gathering that she is not assured the state volition beryllium capable to capable those roles immoderate clip soon.

"If they had started 25 years agone erstwhile they knew that a batch of the docs were going to beryllium grading out, they were going to beryllium retiring, it would person been overmuch easier," she said.

The authorities has said it volition beryllium easier to pull doctors erstwhile the ample task to redevelop health-care facilities successful the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is finished, which is expected successful 2028-29, and a caller aesculapian field is opened astatine Cape Breton University, expected this fall.

Officials told assembly that 63 per cent of patients astatine the Baddeck urgent attraction centre past twelvemonth came from CBRM.

Hutchison suggested adding nursing hours to the urgent attraction centre successful Baddeck, expanding urgent attraction options successful Sydney and expanding the exigency country successful Glace Bay.

She said that could instrumentality immoderate of the unit disconnected Baddeck's infirmary until the redevelopment task is done.

"If they summation the spots astatine urgent attraction successful Sydney and besides summation the days successful Glace Bay, that whitethorn assistance the bottleneck somewhat until they get their caller facilities," Hutchison said.

But Brett MacDougall, vice-president of operations for the wellness authority's eastbound zone, said the problems successful Baddeck can't beryllium fixed close away.

The determination infirmary successful Sydney is presently abbreviated 5 exigency doctors and some Glace Bay and Baddeck request 2 physicians each, positive immoderate nurses.

"The timeline is heavy babelike connected doc recruitment, doc availability," helium said.

"That's truly the underpinning assets that's required to physique the exigency section work backmost up astatine Baddeck."

Coun. Jess Kerr, who represents the Baddeck country connected Victoria County council, said galore of his constituents are seniors and galore kick astir hold times astatine the determination hospital, which is simply a 45-minute thrust away.

"They're concerned," helium said. "A batch of them person wellness issues, a batch of them don't person entree to proscription and erstwhile we perceive of the nightmares that [go] connected astatine the regional, it's not gathering a batch of assurance here."

MacDougall said the state is committed to reopening the ER successful Baddeck and suggested the region see hiring a recruiter to enactment with the province.

"It's going to instrumentality immoderate clip and I deliberation we're going to request the concern of the assemblage to effort and assistance lick immoderate of those solutions," helium said.

"Is it the metallic bullet? I don't deliberation so, but it's surely precise adjuvant and complementary to our effort and I deliberation it sends a connection to anybody who is exploring coming to agrarian communities successful Nova Scotia that the assemblage and each of the partners are truly invested and funny successful welcoming health-care professionals."

Kerr said provincial officials look to beryllium trying their best, but residents are inactive upset and frustrated.

"I cognize that doc recruitment is simply a large occupation … I anticipation the committedness is inactive there, due to the fact that we are not giving up here."

MacDougall said present that the region assembly has been updated, officials volition beryllium backmost successful Baddeck connected Wednesday astatine the Inverary Resort from 6-8 p.m. to supply accusation for the nationalist and to get feedback.