More consistent hours for Middleton ER in April

Soldiers Memorial Hospital's emergency department will be open more reliable, consistent hours in April, said Nova Scotia Health.

The health authority said the Middleton hospital's emergency department will be open from Tuesday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every week.

The emergency department has been scheduled to be open from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. daily. But due to staffing shortages, the department has been closed 46 days between Jan. 1 and March 22.

Nova Scotia Health also said the emergency room will also be open from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 15.

The schedule is subject to changes, and Nova Scotia Health said any its temporary closure page at www. nshealth.ca/temporaryclosures.

The mobile primary care clinic is heading to the Soldiers Memorial Hospital twice more in April.

The drop-in clinics are available April 16 and 30 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The clinic is a temporary service to give residents a primary care setting for people with mild or moderate health concerns. Nova Scotia Health said that the health clinic is not a substitute for a primary care provider.

Clinics will address prescription refills or renewals, minor respiratory symptoms, sore throat, earaches, fever, headache, rashes, minor gastrointestinal concerns, cough, flu or cold symptoms, urinary tract infections and muscle pain.

Anyone with urgent medical needs should call 911, and those seeking general health advice and information should call 811.

More information about the clinics can be found online at www.nshealth. ca/mobileprimarycare.

More than 5,500 people recently signed a petition requesting the provincial government develop a comprehensive targeted plan to return the emergency department at Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Middleton to 24 hours a day, seven days a week service. It also requests quarterly public information sessions in the community to update residents on the progress towards the plan.

Nova Scotia Health officials said they were committed to restoring emergency care in Middleton to 24 hours a day, seven days a week during a public information session in February. But no timelines were provided.