Western Hospital Collaborative Emergency Centre to remain closed for 2022

The Western Hospital Collaborative Emergency Centre (CEC) will continue to remain closed until at least January 2023 due to ongoing staffing challenges.

This closure does not affect emergency department services, which remain open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The review of this service is ongoing with the purpose of identifying areas for improvement to help determine the best use of resources to provide acute emergency services in West Prince. 

With the closure of the CEC, Island EMS developed two strategies to shift and optimize access to emergency services in the West Prince area:

• A Rapid Response Unit (RRU) which operates during the overnight hours in Alberton. These non-transporting vehicles are staffed by Advanced Care Paramedics who can administer a wider range of medications and perform advanced medical procedures for residents further away from regional hospitals.
• A 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Ambulance in Summerside. This additional capacity directly benefits the communities of West Prince by allowing those ambulances to stay in their communities when system volumes are high in the central and eastern regions of the province.

Jessica Bruce      
Senior Communications Officer, Health PEI
jessicabruce@gov.pe.ca