Clearwater emergency room closing for 8 nights, 3 days after it closed for 5
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.