The emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital have been again cut back due, this time, to an unexpected physician vacancy, Interior Health said in a notice sent out Tuesday.
From Tuesday at 8 a.m. to Wednesday at 8 a.m., emergency services will be unavailable and patients can access care at Royal Inland Hospital, Interior Health said in a press release.
During this time, all other inpatient services will continue as normal at Nicola Valley Hospital.
The closure is a regular occurrence in Merritt, and a frustration to the mayor of the B.C. Southern Interior city.
“I could not imagine Vancouver Victoria or Richmond or Chilliwack waking up one morning and they’re being told they don’t have a hospital or an emergency room for the next 24 hours…it’s not acceptable for us to have to put with this,” Michael Goetz said.
“We’re going to be looking at close to 50 closures this year and that’s unacceptable and there has to be a reason why…and we need to get some answers because right now we’re not getting any.”
Merritt is not the only hospital seeing these kinds of issues play out. Since the beginning of 2022, B.C. has seen consistent closures of rural hospital emergency departments as a result of staffing shortages or the inability to cover someone’s shift due to illness.
An Interior Health notice said people in the community who need life-threatening emergency care should always call 911 for transport to the nearest available and appropriate facility.