B.C. emergency department hit with more than a dozen closures this year temporarily shut down again

A B.C. emergency department that's faced a string of closures over staffing shortages has been temporarily shut down again.

Interior Health issued a notice on social media Sunday saying Clearwater's emergency department was closed as of 6 a.m. that day. While the department was initially scheduled to reopen at 7 a.m. Monday, a later notice pushed that back to 7 p.m.

"Interior Health regrets this temporary change," the brief message said.

Those requiring emergency care in the community north of Kamloops were advised to call 911 or go to Royal Inland Hospital, which is more than an hour's drive away and has faced its own staffing issues this year. 

Clearwater's emergency department at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital has closed more than a dozen other times this year, starting as early as Jan. 5. While all of the closures were temporary – and many less than 24 hours – one in April lasted 50 hours.

Earlier this year, the community's mayor said the issue's been ongoing for months.

"I can't really keep track of the number of times our emergency room's closed, it's been an ongoing issue since early last fall," he told CTV News Vancouver in May, when the department closed at least five times. "It's deeply concerning for our citizens."

Health officials have previously blamed staffing shortages on the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises in the province, like last year's heat dome, wildfires and floods.

Blackwell said his community is concerned it'll see more resources taken away, adding there's an additional burden of about 1,000 Trans Mountain workers using the local emergency department as a walk-in clinic.

"Citizens particularly are concerned because they fought very hard to get a modern hospital in Clearwater," he said.

With files from The Canadian Press