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Vitalité warns 2 emergency rooms face 'critical slowdown' this weekend

The regional health authority says Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton is facing 'a high traffic rate' this weekend. (Shane Magee/CBC - image credit)
The regional health authority says Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton is facing 'a high traffic rate' this weekend. (Shane Magee/CBC - image credit)

The emergency departments at two New Brunswick hospitals will be operating at "very reduced capacity" through Monday, according to a news release from Vitalité Health Network.

It said the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton is facing "a high traffic rate," while the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent has a nursing shortage.

The regional health authority said wait times will be longer than usual and patients most in need of care will be seen first.

It advised local residents to try other avenues, such as seeing their family doctor, if they're in need of non-urgent care.

A Health Department spokesperson said in October that the number of New Brunswickers on a waiting list for a family doctor stood at about 69,600.