Clearwater emergency room closing for 8 nights, 3 days after it closed for 5

Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater, B.C., is seen in this photo from Interior Health's website.

Three days after it returned to 24-hour operation following five straight nights of overnight closures, an emergency department in the B.C. Interior is closing again. This time, it will be closed for eight nights in a row.

Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital will be on diversion from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily beginning Thursday night and continuing through Aug. 18, according to a statement from Interior Health.

The emergency room is scheduled to resume 24-hour service at 7 a.m. on Aug. 19.

Other inpatient services at the hospital will continue as normal, Interior Health said.

Closures due to limited staffing availability have become routine in Clearwater and in other rural communities around the province as B.C.'s health-care system struggles with worker fatigue and burnout.

Last week, the vice president of the BC Nurses’ Union told CTV Morning Live staffing shortages and wait times in hospitals across the province are the worst she's ever seen. 

Adriane Gear said facilities have been understaffed for years, and that a lack of work-life balance for nurses working in health authorities has driven many to take leaves of absence, resign, or go to work for private companies.

Doctors have also been in short supply, leading to clinic closures and long waits for patients seeking primary care. 

In Clearwater, when the local emergency room is closed, patients are diverted to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops or 100 Mile House District General Hospital in 100 Mile House, both more than 100 kilometres away.

"Interior Health regrets this temporary change to normal operations," the health authority said in its statement.