WINGHAM – The emergency department (ED) at the Wingham and District Hospital will be closed for the Civic Holiday weekend.
On Aug. 1, the Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance (LWHA) announced the Wingham ED will be closed for the weekend, beginning Thursday, Aug. 3 at 5 p.m. and reopening on Sunday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m.
A release from LWHA sites “ongoing staffing challenges” as a reason for the closure.
“We understand how disappointing this extended closure is to our community, as well as our staff and physicians. Our staffing situation is expected to improve through August, which will reduce our risk of closure. However, the health human resources issues remain challenging,” states the release.
LWHA asks those with a medical emergency to call 911 during the closure. Ambulances will remain available to the community and will be re-routed to surrounding hospitals to ensure local residents continue to have access to the emergency services they need.
For non-urgent health care call Health Connect Ontario at 811, which is available 24/7 for non-emergency health-related questions.
The closest hospitals to Wingham are:
- Listowel – 35 km
- Clinton – 36 km
- Walkerton – 39 km
- Palmerston – 43 km
- Goderich – 47 km
- Seaforth – 49 km
- Kincardine – 55 km
Hospital officials suggest checking with those emergency departments to confirm they are open before heading there, as they may be experiencing staffing shortages.
