The mayor of Ashcroft says she’s been told there are expectations that a new Urgent and Primary Care Centre in her community could be open as soon as the fall.

Speaking on NL Newsday, Barbara Roden, says the facility, which is set to be open from 8am to 8pm seven-days-a-week, will take away some uncertainty around emergency room hours in her community.

“Of course, we’ve had ongoing issues with that for the last number of years now with the unexpected closures,” Roden said.

“The thinking behind the UPCC is not only will it give us more consistency with our healthcare seven days a week, because it will be open during the daytime, it will make it that much more attractive to staff, because they’ll be able to get full time hours during the day time so that they are not having to sit in those overnight shifts”

As it stands, the Ashcroft Hospital is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the emergency department only open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday night and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

That change came into effect on Jan 21, replacing the old hours of 6 p.m. on Friday to 8 a.m. on Monday, with the exception of statutory holidays.

“[The closures] quietened down after January when we were told that we would have temporary curtailment of our emergency department,” Roden said. “In fairness to Interior Health, since they instituted that quote-unquote temporary curtailment, which we still have today, we’ve only had one unexpected closure.”

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that those overnight shifts, especially when its only a couple of nights a week, are pretty brutal to try to staff and when they can’t get staff, those are the shifts that they cut first because when the demand is lowest.”

In an email to NL News, Interior Health says it is working to sustain primary care services in Ashcroft with the change in physicians in September, but did not confirm the plans to build an Urgent Primary Care Centre.

“We are working to sustain primary care services in Ashcroft with the change in physicians in September, but there is no confirmation of an Urgent Primary Care Centre,” an IH spokesperson said.

“We can share more information once we have services confirmed.”