Staff shortages at 4 B.C. hospitals lead to ER closures

Nicola Valley Hospital and Health Care Centre in Merritt, B.C., is seen in this photo from the Interior Health website.

Multiple hospitals in B.C.'s Interior faced staffing shortages over the weekend, leading to temporary emergency room closures.

Interior Health issued warnings about service impacts at Lillooet Hospital, South Okanagan General Hospital, Nicola Valley General Hospital, and Cariboo Memorial Hospital.

The longest emergency department disruption was at Merritt's Nicola Valley Hospital, which closed on Sunday at 8 a.m. and isn't scheduled to reopen until 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Interior Health explained the closure was because of "limited physician availability."

Other inpatient services are continuing as normal at the hospital and patients were told to go to Royal Inland Hospital – about 50 minutes away – if they needed care. Those dealing with an emergency, however, were told to call 911 for transportation to the nearest available facility.

Meanwhile, Lillooet Hospital's emergency department was closed for more than 24 hours because of physician availability. The department closed at 6 a.m. Sunday and was scheduled to reopen Monday morning at 8 a.m. Patients seeking care were told to head to Royal Inland Hospital, which is a two-hour drive away from Lillooet.

Additionally, a nursing shortage at Cariboo Memorial Hospital's emergency department in Williams Lake led to a overnight closures on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The department was scheduled to reopen Monday at 7:30 a.m. Patients were told they could travel to 100 Mile District General Hospital, GR Baker Memorial Hospital or Bella Coola General Hospital during the closure.

On Friday, the emergency department at Oliver's South Okanagan General Hospital was closed overnight because of a lack of available nurses. Patients were advised to seek care at Penticton Regional Hospital instead, which is a 35-minute drive away from Oliver.

Normally, the emergency departments at all four hospitals are open 24-7.