Four emergency departments in British Columbia’s interior government were temporarily diverted over the weekend due to staff shortages.
Interior health officials issued three notices Sunday saying emergency rooms at Creston Valley Hospital, Dr. Helmcken Memorial in Clearwater and Oliver’s South Okanagan General Hospital are temporarily closed.
While Oliver’s department was diverted for just six hours Sunday, Creston’s and Clearwater’s were closed overnight and expected to reopen Monday at 7 a.m.
Another notice was issued on Friday warning that Ashcroft’s emergency room would be diverted all weekend. This emergency room is usually not open on weekdays or at night.
Residents in need of emergency care were urged to call 911 or visit the next closest emergency departments. For some communities, these other options were more than 100 kilometers away.
“Interior Health regrets this temporary change to normal operations,” the health authority said in each of its advisories.
Internal health emergency departments face persistent staffing constraints, resulting in regular referrals. In fact, the Clearwater department, which has been hit by more than a dozen temporary closures so far this year, was on a diversion for most of last week.
Earlier this year, the community’s mayor said the problem had been going on for months.
“I can’t really keep track of how many times our emergency room has closed, it’s been an ongoing problem since the beginning of last fall,” Marilyn Blackwell told CTV News Vancouver in May, when the department closed at least five times. “This is deeply worrying for our citizens.
Health officials previously blamed the health care shortage on the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises in the province, such as last year’s heat dome, wildfires and floods.
“You have to make adjustments either by bringing people in or by moving people,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said of the diversions earlier this year. “That’s why the public health system works well under these circumstances.”
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