The Town of Port Hawkesbury is supporting efforts to get another entrance to St. Martha’s Regional Hospital and get more staff at Strait-Richmond Hospital.
During Tuesday night’s regular public meeting, Port Hawkesbury Town Council voted to send a letter to Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish MP Jaime Battiste and Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow stating that a fully staffed Strait-Richmond hospital are essential to support access issues at the Antigonish healthcare facility.
At town council’s committee-of-the-whole session on Jan. 20, Deputy Mayor Todd Barrett and Town Councillor Iaian Langley expressed support for a letter from Antigonish Mayor Sean Cameron lobbying for the construction of an alternate route to St. Martha’s.
Langley also had council agree that this effort emphasizes the importance of having more physicians at the Strait-Richmond Hospital.
Although fewer than in years past, the emergency department at the Evanston facility has been closed periodically due to a shortage of physicians.