Merritt ER closed overnight due to staff shortage

Another B.C. hospital has been forced to implement an unscheduled temporary emergency room closure due to a shortage of staff.

In a bulletin issued Monday afternoon, Interior Health said the ER at the Nicola Valley Hospital in Merritt would be closed overnight from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. Tuesday “due to limited staffing availability.”

5:09 Impact of Interior Health ER closures

Patients were instead directed to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, nearly an hour’s drive away.

Interior Health said the ER closure did not affect other inpatient services at the hospital.

Anyone having a life-threatening emergency should still call 911, the health authority said.