Another 3 emergency departments temporarily closed in BC Interior

Three more emergency departments in the BC Interior have been forced to temporarily shut down due to staff shortages.

The affected facilities are Nicola Valley Hospital and Health Centre in Merritt, South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver and 100 Mile House District General Hospital.

In Merritt and 100 Mile House, a lack of nurses is to blame for the closure; in Oliver, a lack of doctors.

The emergency departments in Merritt and 100 Mile House ceased operating at 7 pm on Sunday and will reopen at 7 am on Monday.

Oliver’s, meanwhile, shut down at 5 am this morning and will reopen at 10 am.

Patients who usually go to the hospital in Oliver for emergency care should instead go to Penticton, Interior Health said in a public bulletin.

Those in Merritt should go to Kamloops, while those in 100 Mile House should go to either Williams Lake, Lillooet or Kamloops.

All other inpatient services at the affected hospitals are available as normal, Interior Health explained.

The authority's bulletin adds: “Anyone unsure whether an emergency room visit is warranted can call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 or visit www.HealthLinkBC.ca for non-emergency health information from nurses, dietitians and pharmacists 24 hours a day, seven days per week.”

For more on this story, see the following:

• Mayor of Merritt demands a stop to ER closures, renews call for firing health minister

• We should not tolerate ER closures, says shadow minister for health

• ‘I’m frustrated too’: Minister of health on a BC community’s ER closures