Peel Memorial closes urgent care centre amid 'extreme' capacity and staffing pressures

The urgent care centre at Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness in Brampton will be closed until at least Feb. 1 amid “extreme capacity and staffing shortages.”

William Osler Health System made the announcement Monday evening after previously announcing the urgent care centre would be closed until Jan. 10.

“Due to increasing volumes in our Emergency Departments, further compounded by our extreme capacity and staffing pressures, Osler has made the very difficult decision to temporarily close its Urgent Care Centre at Peel Memorial until at least February 1, 2022,” a statement issued on their website said.

“This closure will help to direct the highly skilled staff and physicians to where demand is the greatest.”

Amid the recent surge of COVID-19 cases across Ontario fuelled by the Omicron variant, hospitals are continuing to grapple with staffing shortages and higher than normal patient volumes.

Last week, staffing shortages and increased patient volume saw William Osler Health System declare a ‘code orange’ across its hospital network.

The temporary measure, called off on Jan. 5, allowed patients to be transferred to neighbouring hospitals in order to free up capacity.

In response to the urgent care centre's closure, MPP for Brampton North, Kevin Yarde, MPP for Brampton Centre, Sara Singh and Deputy Opposition House Leader for the NDP, Gurratan Singh, released a joint statement Monday evening.

“The temporary closure of Peel Memorial's Urgent Care Centre is a scary development for patients and their families,” the statement read

“No one should have to worry that a loved one might not get the care they need in an emergency.”

The statement calls on the Ford government to repeal Bill 124, which limits regular annual salary increases for nurses and other public sector employees to one per cent for each 12-month period, provide Ontario health care workers with danger pay and implement the Canadian Armed Forces for emergency staffing in hospitals where needed across the province.

William Osler recommends that patients visit their family doctor for non-emergent concerns during the closure.

Osler’s other emergency departments, including those at Brampton Civic and Etobicoke General, remain open.