The emergency department hours at Nicola Valley Hospital have again been cut back due to a physician vacancy, Interior Health said in a notice sent out Tuesday.
Merritt and area residents are being warned that the Nicola Valley Hospital will be closed from 8 a.m. Friday, March 10 to 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 11 due to a physician shortage.
Those who need care can access it at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, though 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, who said there have been close to 50 closures this year.
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.