Urgent care centres in Fort Erie, Port Colborne to close overnight

Urgent care centres in Fort Erie and Port Colborne will no longer be operating on a 24-hour basis due to increasing staff shortages.

Starting on July 5, the urgent care centres (UCCs) in Fort Erie and Port Colborne will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Niagara Health said in a media release on Wednesday that hours are being reduced because emergency-trained physicians from the urgent care centre (UCC) are being asked to cover absences in the emergency department (ED).

“Like most health systems in Ontario and Canada, we have experienced significant challenges finding enough health professionals to provide the level of service needed across the region,” Niagara Health said.

“From June to August alone, our EDs are short 274 physician shifts.”

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The health system believes the least impactful way to tackle staff shortages is to reduce late night and early morning coverage in the Fort Erie and Port Colborne UCCs.

This change allows emergency departments in Welland, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines to stay open.

Niagara Health said they only have an average of one patient every three hours at night at UCCs, with approximately 75 per cent of patients arriving between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.

In a response from Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop, he said that nearly 8,000 residents in the town do not have a family doctor and their first point of contact with the health-care system is urgent care or the emergency department.

“Until we can provide residents with access to family doctors or local solutions to meet their health service needs, they will continue to need local Urgent Care services, or they will continue to overload our Emergency Departments elsewhere in Niagara,” Redekop said.

READ MORE: Port Colborne Urgent Care closes Saturday night due to staffing shortage

Port Colborne’s Mayor Bill Steele also chimed in and said it’s essential for residents to have access to quality healthcare close to home.

“While Port Colborne and Fort Erie Urgent Care Centres do not receive a high number of patients during the evening hours, I still believe access to this service is important,” Steele said.

“Last year, Port Colborne’s Urgent Care Centre received an average of four patients per night.”