Emergency department in B.C. Interior temporarily closes due to staff shortage
Another B.C. emergency department was forced to temporarily close due to a staffing shortage.
Interior Health posted a notice Sunday saying the Ashcroft Hospital and Community Health Care Centre had to close early on the weekend.
The emergency department normally operates only on the weekends from Fridays at 6 p.m. to Mondays at 8 a.m., but because of "limited staffing availability," the department closed at midnight Sunday. It's expected to reopen for its regular hours on Friday.
"Interior Health regrets this temporary change to normal operations," Interior Health said in a statement.
Anyone who required emergency assistance was advised to call 911 or visit Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, which is about a one-hour drive from the Ashcroft hospital, or go to the Nicola Valley Hospital, which is about a 75-minute drive away.
The Nicola Valley Hospital, in Merritt, faced its own staffing shortages last week. On Tuesday, Interior Health said the hospital's emergency department had to close for more than 12 hours "due to an unforeseen limited physician availability."
The closures came as health-care facilities across the province are dealing with severe staffing shortages due to the spread of Omicron. Some health-care workers in B.C. are also no longer working due to a vaccine mandate, though it's unclear if the mandate impacted the recent closures.
Nurses have previously told CTV News they now work short-staffed nearly all the time, saying some of their biggest concerns are of their ability to care for patients at the standard to which they’ve been trained.
"You can imagine working in constant fear that somebody is going to die because you cannot get there to give them the care that they require," said Paula Leweke, a veteran nurse and nurse educator, earlier this month.
Ashcroft's hospital has faced ongoing closures over the past several months. Since October, there have been at least four temporary closures of the weekend emergency department.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.