Nurse shortage cancels labour, delivery services in Miramichi, N.B., until next week

Expectant mothers in the Miramichi, N.B., area are being temporarily diverted to other hospitals.

Labour and delivery services at the Miramichi Regional Hospital in New Brunswick are cancelled until next week.

Expectant mothers in the area who are 35 weeks pregnant and over have been told to prepare travel plans for delivery at hospitals between one and two hours away.

The Horizon Health Network says the “temporary diversion” of labour and birth services in Miramichi is due to an “unforeseen shortage of available nursing staff.”

Horizon issued the notice on Wednesday, saying “this diversion will remain in place until no later than 8 a.m. on Monday, May 18, 2026, when services will resume as normal.”

“During this period, any pregnant individuals who would normally deliver their baby at the Miramichi Regional Hospital will need to travel to another hospital offering labour and birth services.”

The health authority says the nearest hospitals to Miramichi offering these services are:

• The Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst
• The Moncton Hospital
• The Dr. Georges L. Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton
• The Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton

Health Minister Dr. John Dornan says the staffing shortage in Miramichi is due to “an overlap of nurses not being available for a few different reasons.”

“This is not common, in my tenure it’s the first time I’ve heard of this,” said Dornan on Thursday, referring specifically to the Miramichi hospital. “What is important is that we have made arrangements and worked with the 25 women that are expecting in the near future.”

Dornan said most planned delivery situations wouldn’t be considered an emergency, adding that the Miramichi hospital would still be equipped to respond to any delivery deemed an emergency during the service disruption.

“If there is an emergency, if somebody has to deliver in (the Miramichi) hospital, in that emergency room, then we have resources to be able to deliver those people in an emergency situation,” said Dornan.

Last week in the legislature, the Opposition Progressive Conservatives questioned the provincial government about a continuing string of obstetrical service cancellations at the Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville.

PC MLA Bill Hogan said two expectant mothers were directed from Waterville to Fredericton during a service disruption in April and delivered their babies before getting to the hospital – one on the side of the highway, the other in front of the Fredericton hospital.

Dornan said recruitment efforts have and continue to be focused on obstetrical care for the Upper River Valley area.

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