'Unexpected limited physician availability' closes emergency room in B.C. Interior
A hospital in the B.C. Interior was forced to close its emergency department because of a lack of staff Saturday, according to the local health authority.
South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver is normally open 24 hours a day, but Interior Health announced late Saturday afternoon that the facility's emergency department would close at 10 p.m. due to "unexpected limited physician availability."
The emergency room will reopen at 8 a.m. Sunday, the health authority said, adding that those seeking emergency care can access it at Penticton Regional Hospital overnight.
Interior Health said other inpatient services at South Okanagan General Hospital will continue as normal during the closure.
"People in the community who need life-threatening emergency care (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, severe bleeding) should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility," Interior Health said in a statement.
People who are unsure if an emergency room visit is needed can call HealthLink BC at 811 or visit healthlinkbc.ca, the health authority said.
Staffing-related ER closures in the B.C. Interior have been less frequent in 2023, so far, than they were last year, but recruitment and retention of personnel remains a major challenge for the health-care system across the province.
In February, a presentation to Interior Health showed 13.7 per cent of health-care positions unfilled, up from the 5.1 per cent vacancy rate seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Later that month, the provincial government announced plans to spend $1 billion over three years on recruiting and retaining new health-care workers as part of the latest B.C. budget.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
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.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.