Public asked to avoid overcrowded N.B. emergency rooms unless absolutely necessary

New Brunswick's francophone health agency is asking residents to avoid two of its emergency rooms unless absolutely necessary because of capacity issues.

Capacity issues forced New Brunswick's francophone health authority to ask the public to avoid two of its emergency rooms on Friday unless they need critical care.

The Vitalite Health Network said emergency departments at the Hopital de l'Enfant-Jesus in Caraquet, and the Campbellton Regional Hospital were experiencing a "high volume of patients" and a "high bed occupancy rate."

"People who come to the (emergency department) for non-urgent reasons should be patient and expect much longer than usual wait times," the health authority said in a news release.

The agency said in a followup email that respiratory virus season was "in full effect" and the Christmas holidays made it more difficult for people to access primary care services.

As of Friday afternoon, all but one of the 13 beds were occupied at the Hopital de l'Enfant-Jesus, the health authority said in an email. The Campbellton Regional Hospital's emergency department was operating at 180 per cent capacity.

The emergency room at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, N.B., will be closed overnight during the holiday period because of nurse shortages.

"While we are observing higher than normal visitor numbers in Caraquet and in Campbellton, we confirm that all emergency services in other hospitals of the network are operating normally," the health authority said in an email.