Lillooet ER temporarily closed due to staff shortage

The entrance to the hospital in Lillooet, B.C., is shown in this photo from Interior Health. (Credit: interiorhealth.ca)

The emergency department at Lillooet Hospital was closed on B.C. Day due to a lack of physicians, according to Interior Health.

The closure began at 7 a.m. Monday and is set to continue until 8 a.m. Tuesday. Patients are being told to seek care at Kamloops' Royal Inland Hospital, which is roughly two hours away by car.

Anyone who requires "life-threatening emergency care" should call 911 to be transported to hospital by ambulance, the bulletin from the health authority says.

The closure comes as the health authority prepares for the potential of flooding as water starts to flow over a landslide blocking the Chilcotin River. Last week, 21 residents of a long-term care home in Lillooet and three in-patients from the hospital were transferred to other locations.

"Interior Health is also working with all community clients to confirm plans for them to have access to the services they need if they should have to evacuate," an update on Aug. 1 said.

According to provincial modelling, in the worst-case scenario, water flowing over the dam would reach Lillooet within 12 to 13 hours of the dam being overtopped – which happened at approximately 10 a.m. Monday.