A worsening doctor shortage has forced the Saint-Eustache Hospital just north of Montreal to close nearly 20 per cent of its general care beds.
In the past four years, nearly half the doctors there -- 35 of them-- have resigned as a result of difficult working conditions, but only four have been hired.
"Some of the doctors are working up to 100 hours a week," CTV Montreal's Tania Krywiak reported Tuesday.
The hospital says it would need about 20 doctors to keep the 30 beds open.
Dr. Paul-Andre Hudon, president of the Council for Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists told CTV Montreal the decision was necessary to ensure safe care for the patients.
It was also needed so that doctors would only have to "work 12 hours or less a day, if possible," he said.
The impact of the hospital's decision to close the beds as of Friday is yet unclear.
"There might be longer waits in the emergency room for the patients, as well some of the ambulances may have to be rerouted to other hospitals which, for some patients, might mean being further away from home," Krywiak said.
But while some people at the hospital say it's frustrating that the beds must close, they understand the reasoning.
"You can't push staff beyond their reach either ... if closing 30 beds allows them to give safe care, it's too bad, but I guess that's the way it has to be done," one woman told CTV Montreal.
The beds might be closed at the hospital for as long as a year.
With a report from CTV Montreal's Tania Krywiak
