Oliver hospital's ER closing again Monday due to staffing issues
Staffing issues have prompted yet another temporary closure of South Okanagan General Hospital's emergency department – this time from Monday afternoon into Tuesday morning.
As in other recent closures, Interior Health blamed the latest service disruption on "limited physician availability."
The department is scheduled to be shuttered from 5 p.m. Monday until 7 a.m. Tuesday – by which time the hospital will have experienced ER closures of varying lengths on five consecutive days.
Limited staffing forced the department's closure from 1 p.m. Friday until 12 p.m. Saturday, and it was shut down again from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday.
During the disruptions, patients have been told to seek emergency care at Penticton Regional Hospital – an approximately 40-minute drive away – and reminded to always call 911 during potentially life-threatening situations.
Some of the symptoms that would warrant a 911 call for transportation include "chest pains, difficulty breathing (or) severe bleeding," Interior Health said in a news release.
Anyone unsure if an emergency visit is warranted can phone HealthLinkBC at 811 to speak with a nurse, 24 hours a day.
All other inpatient services at South Okanagan General will continue during the outage, according to the health authority.
There were temporary closures at other B.C. emergency departments over the weekend, including at Mission Memorial Hospital, Lillooet Hospital and Chetwynd Hospital. All of those were blamed on limited doctor availability as well.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kaija Jussinoja
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