The Tobique Valley Hospital in Plaster Rock, N.B., is closing its emergency department and cancelling its in-patient service.

As of Wednesday, patients will no longer be admitted to the 15-bed hospital, and beginning in July patients needing urgent care will be transported 40 kilometres to other hospitals.

"We're being told it has nothing to do with money, it's a doctor shortage in our area," said Plaster Rock Mayor Judy St. Peter. "We've had three doctors leave our area and it's been really hard replacing these doctors."

A 24-hour nursing care service will be available at the hospital on a walk-in basis. Other services, including blood work, X-rays and physiotherapy, will also continue to be provided at the facility.

The hospital had previously been slated for closure, but during the 2006 provincial election, the now governing Liberals had promised the site would remain open.

"We felt in Plaster Rock that our hospital was safe. After the last election we were told our hospital would stay without any changes for at least four years," St. Peter said.

The closure of the emergency department and in-patient service was required when only one emergency physician was left at the facility, said Dean Cummings, administrative director for primary care for River Valley Health.

Until recently four emergency physicians had been working at the hospital.

"Because of the three out of four physicians that are no longer providing that service, we had to come up with a model that would be safe and sustainable for the community," Cummings said. "That's what we've done."