Doctor Blames Growing ER Wait Times on Nursing Home Bed Shortage

Written by Bobby Nock. Posted in Local News

A doctor in Sydney says Emergency Department wait times are growing again because of an ongoing shortage of nursing home beds.   Chris Milburn says wait times at the Regional Hospital are up by 20 percent on weekdays and 30 percent on weekends.   He adds when people can’t get into nursing homes, they are left stuck in hospital and that eventually causes a backlog in the Emergency Department.   The Director of Emergency Care at the Regional, Martha MacLean says emergency departments across the province face the same problem.   She adds doctor shortages and Emergency Department closures at other hospitals can add to wait times.

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100-Thousand Raised at Sydney Run For The Cure

Written by Bobby Nock. Posted in Local News

About a thousand people took part for in the Run for the Cure in Sydney, yesterday.   Kimberley Reid from Glace Bay was this year’s keynote speaker during opening ceremonies for the Run.   Reid says she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 at the age of 24.   She adds she celebrated being cancer-free for nine years in August.   This year’s run raised a total of 100-thousand dollars for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

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Clarke Weighs In On Miller Case

Written by Dave Desveaux. Posted in Local News

CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke has publicly weighed in on the Clayton Miller case. Clarke says he supports Provincial Justice Minister Lena Diab’s decision last month to refer a recent report on the case to the medical examiner. 17 year-old Miller was found dead shortly after police raided a teenage drinking party in New Waterford in 1990. His parents have since accused police of a cover-up. Clarke has written a letter to Diab asking that the medical examiner be given the time to fully address the facts of the case and the allegations made against police officers. Clarke says that conclusive findings are needed for the sake of the Miller family, and police officers who’ve been under pressure and stress because of the case. The Miller case has received increasing attention in recent weeks, after a retired nurse posed questions about an autopsy that was conducted on Miller. The hacker group Anonymous recently released a statement in support of the Miller family, and hundreds of people lined the streets of New Waterford for a rally last weekend.

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Gas and Diesel Up

Written by Bobby Nock. Posted in Local News

As predicted, the price of gas went up overnight.   Gas rose by .9 cents a litre and now goes for a minimum of $1.37.2 in Cape Breton.   Diesel went up by 1.1 cents a litre and now costs a minimum of $1.30.1.

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Northside General Emergency Department Re-opens

Written by Bobby Nock. Posted in Local News

The Emergency Department at the Northside General Hospital has now reopened after being closed for most of the week because it had reached patient capacity.   District spokesperson Lynn Gilbert says the Department began taking patients again at 3:00, yesterday afternoon after an influx of people with severe illnesses last Friday.   She adds the District and doctors were able to clear the backlog through patient discharges and by transferring patients to other units.   Gilbert says closing Emergency Departments because they’re full is rare but adds when it does happen it takes time to work through the problem.

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