Change in hours of service at Horizon’s Sussex Health Centre Emergency Department

SUSSEX – Effective Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, the hours of operation for the Emergency Department at the Sussex Health Centre (SHC) will temporarily change to Monday to Sunday (seven days a week), 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

This temporary change of service will ensure the necessary emergency department physicians, nurses and staff are in place to provide safe, quality and timely emergency care.

“Like health authorities across the country, Horizon continues to face immense pressures related to staffing shortages,” said Margaret Melanson, Horizon’s interim President and CEO. “The SHC is a valuable facility, and its physicians, nurses and staff are extremely dedicated to their patients and clients. We will continue to work closely with them to explore different models of care that prioritize access to emergency services while making SHC a leading health centre for its staff and community.”

Horizon leadership met with local physicians, nurses and staff to identify safe and appropriate solutions to current staffing challenges. We are committed to providing the Sussex area with consistent access to emergency care and we are actively recruiting physicians and nurses to the community to join the SHC ED, among other teams. Horizon recently hired a new nurse practitioner (NP) for the area and will share more information about their practice soon.

There will be no change to the number of acute care beds at SHC. We are also exploring more ways to increase the use of the SHC’s operating room and its ambulatory care services.

For urgent medical needs or a health crisis, emergency services are available at SHC from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The public may also call 911 for immediate assistance at any time.

For non-urgent medical needs, we encourage Sussex-area residents to continue to use other options, such as Tele-Care 811; pharmacies; virtual care, such as eVisitNB.ca; and after-hours clinics. More information on these options is available at sowhywait.ca. If residents are unsure if their medical condition is urgent, please call Tele-Care 811 to discuss the type of medical attention needed.

Providing information about how and when to access non-urgent care options is part of Horizon’s plan to ensure all New Brunswickers can receive the care they need. This plan consists of four priority areas, including the retention and recruitment of physicians, nurses and staff; improving access to health care (specifically emergency care and surgical services); improving overall patient experience; and improving patient flow at our health care facilities. Further details about Horizon’s four priority areas are available at HorizonNB.ca.  

– 30 –